Ridgeview's History
1954: The newly formed Waconia Community Hospital Association assumed operations of the Nagel Hospital, 27-bed, 8-bassinet community hospital.
1959: John Devins was hired as president of the Waconia Community Hospital.
1962: Construction began on a new 45-bed community-owned hospital located on the high ridge southwest of town.
July 27, 1963: Waconia Ridgeview Hospital opened its doors.
1973: Ridgeview underwent a major expansion, adding a third floor and a capacity of 109 beds and 20 bassinets. New surgical, pediatric and intensive care units were added, plus a number of other improvements.
1977: Waconia Ridgeview Hospital began operating ambulance services with one red Cadillac ambulance and averaged 30 calls per month with a staff of two paramedics and eight EMTs.
April 1990: Ground was broken for an $11 million expansion, which included a new emergency care facility and ambulance garages. This building program also allowed for expansion in the surgery areas (including the development of a same-day surgery complex), maternal child health, lab, radiology, medical records, communication center and a gift shop. A large auditorium was added to the Waconia Campus.
1995: Ridgeview Medical Place, a private medical office building, was built just north of Ridgeview Medical Center, allowing additional services — including radiation therapy, oncology care and dialysis. An underground tunnel connecting the building to the hospital was also built to allow for transportation of patients between the two buildings.
1996: John Devins retired as president of Ridgeview after having served the Waconia Community Hospital (1959–63), Waconia Ridgeview Hospital (1963–90) and Ridgeview Medical Center (1990–96) for 37 years. Under his leadership, the once 27-bed, 8-bassinet community hospital with four to six physicians had grown to a major regional medical center with more than 200 physicians in 25 specialties.
1996: Ridgeview purchased Chanhassen Medical Center, a family care clinic located in downtown Chanhassen.
Late 1996: Robert Stevens was welcomed as Ridgeview’s CEO. His vision to strengthen Ridgeview’s scope of health care and information services in the growing western Twin Cities suburbs led to the acquisition of additional neighborhood clinics (located in Howard Lake, Winsted, Mound, Maple Plain and Delano) and to the development of the multispecialty Ridgeview Chaska Medical Plaza. Ridgeview also purchased a home medical equipment business, and created a formal hospice care program to augment its home care services.
1998: With support from Ridgeview Foundation, a chapel and meditation garden were constructed.
1999: Groundbreaking for multi-million dollar building project including the expansion of imaging services, with an on-site magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) facility, as well as the construction of a state-of-the-art cardiac/intensive care unit (CICU).
1999: A financial gift from the former Nightingale Center Nursing Home helped open the Nightingale Center geriatric behavioral services unit.
Jan. 1, 2000: Ridgeview became an independent, nonprofit hospital. Previously operated as a government (community-owned) organization, Ridgeview's hospital building is owned by the city of Waconia, which is leased to Ridgeview and operated by its administrators and board of directors.
2001: Ridgeview opened a CICU and Imaging Center.
2002: Construction of new clinic buildings began in Delano, Chanhassen and Howard Lake (which were occupied in 2003).
2003: Ridgeview completed construction of two new operating rooms in Surgery.
2004: Ridgeview began construction of a new 15,000-square-foot Ridgeview Excelsior Clinic, which opened in the spring of 2005.
Spring 2006: Ridgeview broke ground for the Ridgeview Heart Center and a Center for Women & Children, as well as a high-tech Communications Center, which backs up Carver County’s main 911 emergency system in case of failure.
July 2008: Ridgeview Professional Building opened in Waconia.
February 2009: Ridgeview Winsted Clinic expansion is completed. The 8,000-square-foot facility, adjacent to its former location, is connected to St. Mary’s Care Center by an enclosed corridor.
Summer 2009: Ridgeview opened its new Birthing Center, which features six birthing suites with full-sized bathtubs and 18 private "spa-like" postpartum suites with hotel-like décor and amenities.
2010: Ridgeview opened its Neonatal Care Unit, in partnership with Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. Ridgeview’s NCU team is led by neonatologists from Children's, who have a daily presence at Ridgeview, and includes Ridgeview’s highly-regarded nursing staff and Children’s neonatal nurse practitioners, who provide 24/7 on-site support. The unit features seven private rooms with the capability to care for up to 13 infants at a time.
February 1, 2011: Ridgeview opened Two Twelve Medical Center, a free-standing emergency and urgent care facility located at Highways 212 and 41 in Chaska. Two Twelve Medical Center offers 24/7 emergency and urgent care, comprehensive family and specialty care, advanced diagnostics, access to leading physicians and clinics, and more.
Summer 2012: Ridgeview Delano Clinic expansion is completed. The 11,000-square-foot addition expanded the 8,379-square-foot clinic that was built in 2002. The addition provides expanded Ridgeview clinic space, nearly 3,000 additional square feet for Ridgeview Rehabilitation Services and space for Ridgeview’s partners, including Twin Cities Orthopedics and Wayzata Children's Clinic.
January 1, 2014: Ridgeview assumed the operation of Sibley Medical Center—a critical care access hospital in Arlington, Minn., and its four primary care clinics (Arlington, Gaylord, Henderson and Winthrop).
Summer 2014: Ridgeview opened a 45,000-foot, two-story expansion at Two Twelve Medical Center.
Summer 2016: Ridgeview completed a 40,000 square-foot expansion of the Ridgeview Professional Building to house additional clinical space, including several of Ridgeview's Specialty Clinic practices.
August 15, 2016: Ground was broken on a nearly 100,000 square-foot Ridgeview Health Campus in Belle Plaine. The new health and wellness destination is owned and operated in partnership by Ridgeview and the Lutheran Home Association.
January 1, 2017: Ridgeview assumed the operation of Minnesota Valley Health Center, Inc., in Le Sueur, MN — a critical care hospital, outpatient specialty clinic, emergency and urgent care services, lab and radiology departments, short-term and long-term care nursing facilities and independent living senior housing.
2017: Ridgeview Ambulance celebrated 40 years of service with a staff of 71 paramedics, 56 EMTs and 13 dispatchers with 17 ambulances in the fleet serving an annual call volume of more than 14,000 calls.
June 5, 2017: Ridgeview opened a new 13,555 square-foot clinic in Belle Plaine. The Ridgeview Belle Plaine Clinic is located on the Ridgeview Health Campus, constructed in partnership with The Lutheran Home Association.
July 10, 2017: The Ridgeview Medical Center Board of Directors selected Michael Phelps as Ridgeview's new President and CEO. Phelps has held a number of executive position in the organization including serving as Vice President of Diversified Services from 2006-2010, Chief Administrative Officer from 2010-13 and as Chief Operating Officer since 2013. In his executive roles, Phelps has led operations for Ridgeview’s network of hospitals, primary and specialty care clinics and outreach services in Ridgeview’s six-county service area. He has also developed and implemented many of Ridgeview’s key business strategies, expansion projects, clinical partnerships and programs, and led the system’s financial operations, provider and payer relations, and acquisition activities. Phelps also led the development of Ridgeview’s first Accountable Care Organization, serving as CEO of Ridgeview Community Network.
Sept. 23, 2017: Ridgeview celebrated the grand opening of the Ridgeview Health Campus in Belle Plaine. Ridgeview partnered with The Lutheran Home Association to construct and open the Campus.
Dec. 21, 2017: Bob Stevens retired after serving 21 years as president and CEO of Ridgeview Medical Center.
Oct. 22, 2018: Ridgeview broke ground on the new Norman and Ann Hoffman Emergency Center on the Waconia Campus.
Nov. 15, 2018: Ridgeview Le Sueur Clinic opened on Ridgeview Le Sueur Medical Center Campus in Le Sueur.
Nov. 20, 2019: The first completed area of the Norman and Ann Hoffman Emergency Center addition on Ridgeview's Waconia campus opened to patients. The $18.8 million Emergency Department expansion includes 20,000 square feet of additional space.
Dec. 9, 2019: The new Cardiac & Pulmonary Rehab space located in the lower level of the Emergency Department addition on Ridgeview's Waconia Campus opened.
Feb. 25, 2020: The Ridgeview Sibley Medical Center remodel project was completed. This included the renovation of the Emergency Department, patient and trauma rooms, nurses' station, waiting area and lab.
Jan. 18, 2021: Ridgeview announced a new naming strategy and visual identity to reflect its position as a comprehensive regional health care system. The new public-facing name to identify the system across all locations and services is Ridgeview. An updated visual identity was created to support the new naming strategy, convey system strength and Ridgeview’s “You Matter Here” brand promise.
Aug. 1, 2021: Ridgeview implements the premier electronic health record, Epic, across its network of hospitals and clinics.
Oct. 6, 2021: Children’s Minnesota announced the expansion of its neonatal services at Ridgeview’s Waconia Campus, offering families an enhanced Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and caring for babies as young as 30 weeks gestational age.
Jan. 12, 2022: Ridgeview announced that its Waconia and Chaska hospital Campuses’ designation as Acute Stroke Ready Hospitals (ASRH) by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) was renewed. The designation requires an Acute Stroke Team be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at both hospital Campuses. Ridgeview has held this designation since 2014.
June 23, 2022: Ridgeview and Twin Cities Orthopedics (TCO) announced plans to jointly develop a new Orthopedic Institute on Ridgeview’s Chaska Campus, scheduled to open in October 2023. This innovative partnership is first-of-its kind in Minnesota and the expansion and renovations to Two Twelve Medical Center will add an additional 54,000 square feet.
Aug. 1, 2022: Ridgeview was recognized as a five-star hospital by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Its Nursing & Rehab Center in Le Sueur was also recognized as a five-star nursing home by CMS. CMS assigns star ratings to hospitals and nursing homes nationwide based on their performance across multiple quality categories.
Jan. 2023: Ridgeview was named one of America’s Best Hospitals for Obstetrics by the Women’s Choice Award®, America’s trusted referral source for the best in health care. The award signifies that Ridgeview is in the top 4% of 4,729 U.S. hospitals offering obstetrics.
June 2023: Ridgeview was recognized as a 2023 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™ recipient by Healthgrades®. This distinction places Ridgeview among the top 5% of hospitals nationwide for patient experience. Healthgrades also named Ridgeview a Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Heart Failure in 2023.
July 27, 2023: The hospital at Ridgeview’s Waconia Campus celebrated its 60th anniversary.
Aug. 17, 2023: The hospital at Ridgeview’s Arlington Campus celebrated its 75th anniversary.
Sept. 18, 2023: Ridgeview opened its newest Urgent Care location at Ridgeview Clinics in Chanhassen.
Oct. 2023: Ridgeview was nationally recognized by Healthgrades® for Specialty Care. Among Ridgeview’s distinctions are Specialty Excellence Awards placing the hospital in the top 100 — and in the top 10% — of all hospitals in the nation for joint replacement. Ridgeview also received the Surgical Care Excellence Award, as well as five-star ratings for total knee and hip replacement.
Nov. 15, 2023: Ridgeview and Twin Cities Orthopedics (TCO) opened the Orthopedic Institute — a premiere destination for patients to access world-class orthopedic care — at its Chaska Campus at Two Twelve Medical Center. It is the first dedicated orthopedic facility in Minnesota that is a partnership between an independent practice and a health system.
