History

The “nurses’ home” is reopened as six Assisted living apartments.

Assisted care building is closed due to low census and lack of staffing due to the COVID19 pandemic. It now houses only offices and storage.

A new 50-bed intermediate care facility certified nursing unit is built for hospital patients. All of the hospital patients are moved over to the new building.  Men were moved up from the big house to the lower floor where the hospital used to be, and the women remained on the upper floor.  

The Depression of the 1930’s brought with it the need for more room for women and persons who needed constant care.  It was during these years that the new County Hospital was built.  It was constructed at the cost of $26,000, surrounded by the beauty of trees, and was separate from the infirmary.  This hospital had 24 beds. 

New County hospital built for 24 residents.  When vacated in 1938, it became the Nurses home for live-in staff.

Children’s home built.  (Couples, women and men remained in the big house)

The infirmary housed and educated Wayne County children until the construction of the new Children’s home in March 1882.  The county built the Children’s Home to “furnish and asylum for indigent children under age 16 where they are to be provided with physical, moral and mental training.”

Board of Directors Casper T. Richey, John Brinkerhoff, and Thomas McKee along with County Commissioners James Blackburn, Conrad Franks, and John Hough purchase 286 acres of farmland for $8,800 & hire local architect and builder, Simon Christine, to construct a 3-story structure known as the Wayne County Infirmary.  The home contained 100 rooms, was heated by steam, and house indigent, aged and sick residents.

2 years prior to the local institution being created, Ohio Legislature enacted a law changing the name of poor houses to county infirmaries. It was conducted under that name until 1919 when the present name “County Home” was adopted.