Medicine at the Fort

Medicine at the Fort. . , Surgical Pavilion, U.S. General Hospital No. 29, Fort Snelling, Ca. 1918, Minnesota Historical Society, Doctor and nurse with patient, Fort Snelling Hospital, 1919, Minnesota Historical Society, Aides in occupational and physio therapy, United States of America General Hospital Number 29, Fort Snelling, 1918, Minnesota Historical Society, The hospital here at the Upper Post was built in 1898. It replaced an outdated ward that stood where Highway 55 is now. Over the years, the hospital expanded to meet the needs of the growing fort. New additions were constructed in 1905, 1910, around 1918, 1935, and 1944. At its height, it had a capacity of 1,200 beds., For about a year following World War I, the hospital at the Upper Post became General Hospital No. 29. This reorganization was designed to provide the best possible care for returning sick and wounded soldiers. It was renamed the Fort Snelling Post Hospital after the war., In addition to standard medical care, the hospital also offered occupational therapy, including a library and educational service. This gave recuperating soldiers the opportunity to acquire new skills and train for postwar employment. There were also a variety of indoor and outdoor sports, performances, and other entertainment for the soldiers who were recovering here., Fort Snelling Hospital c. 1940, Minnesota Historical Society, Recreation time, Fort Snelling Hospital, Minnesota Historical Society, Wounded soldier learning crafts, Fort Snelling Hospital, Ca. 1919, Minnesota Historical Society, The hospital's final addition in 1944 was a respite and recreation area known as 'the Victory Wing'. It included a sun deck that provided returning service members a place to rest and recover in the Minnesota sunshine., Patients on a newly opened sun deck of the Victory Wing of Fort Snelling Hospital, July 6, 1945, Laurence Fuller Papers, Minnesota Historical Society, After Fort Snelling was decommissioned in 1946, the Veteran's Administration (VA) began to use the hospital, as well as other buildings on the Lower Post for outpatient clinics and a prosthetics lab. The VA used buildings at the Upper Post through the early 1970s.