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Our History

Minidoka County’s Healthcare Anchor

Minidoka Memorial Hospital is the joint operation of Minidoka County’s only hospital and nursing home located in Rupert, Idaho. Services offered at Minidoka Memorial Hospital include surgery, inpatient and outpatient treatments, long-term care, home health, ambulance, and occupational health. The hospital employs over 250 people, making it one of the county’s larger employers.
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Building a Legacy: The Beginnings of Local Healthcare

The community of Rupert grew out of the Minidoka Project, authorized under the Reclamation Act of 1902 signed by President Theodore Roosevelt. Construction of the Minidoka Dam and canal system began in 1904, turning desert ground into fertile farmland and establishing the foundation for local schools, churches, and civic life.

Recognizing the growing town’s urgent need for medical care, Dr. Frazier designed and built Rupert General Hospital in 1926 at the corner of 6th and G streets. The two-story brick facility featured 17 hospital beds, 24 rooms, an electric elevator, and modern hot-water heating. Dr. Frazier owned and operated the hospital through 1928, laying the groundwork for dedicated, local healthcare in Minidoka County.

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The "Aunt Min" Era

In 1928, the hospital was leased to the Lipps family, who operated it for a decade before Minnie Rasmussen took over operations in 1936. Known affectionately as "Aunt Min," Rasmussen purchased the hospital in 1942 and ran it for another ten years. A highly accomplished caregiver, she brought extensive experience from leadership roles at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, the Army Nurse Corps, and facilities across California and Idaho. Local legend had it that if "Aunt Min" didn’t like a doctor or patient, they simply weren’t getting admitted! In 1952, Jacquelin Byrd—Superintendent of Burley's Cottage Hospital—purchased the facility, managing both locations until 1960, when Minidoka County built the current Minidoka Memorial Hospital on Rupert’s west side.

A Rivalry That Built a Hospital

For decades, regional competition with neighboring Cassia County helped shape healthcare in Rupert. The rift began in the 1940s when two local physicians, Dr. Kelly and Dr. Terhune, relocated their practices to Burley, taking their patients with them under the belief that Burley would become the area's main economic hub.

By the 1950s, plans for a new Cassia County Hospital in Burley raised fresh concerns that Rupert would lose its remaining physicians. Longtime Rupert doctor A.F. Dalley forcefully argued for a local hospital, warning that Rupert risked becoming like nearby Aberdeen, which had been stripped of all local doctors after American Falls expanded its facilities. Spurred by Dr. Dalley’s advocacy and booming agricultural growth north of town, local leaders decided to invest in Rupert's future. In 1960, Minidoka Memorial Hospital opened on the west side of town, guaranteeing dedicated, local healthcare for the community.

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A Commitment to Continual Expansion

Following its opening, the hospital was initially managed by the healthcare division of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the early 1970s, management proposed turning Minidoka Memorial into a nursing home and consolidating hospital services in Cassia County. Met with strong community resistance, county leaders severed the contract and established a 10-member board of local trustees to oversee operations. Ed Richardson was hired as Administrator, leading the hospital until 1991, followed by Randy Holom (1991–1997) and Carl Hanson (1997–2015). Today, the hospital is led by local Minico High School graduate Tom Murphy.

To keep pace with local medical needs without burdening taxpayers with a full replacement building, Minidoka County has systematically modernized the existing campus through targeted renovations and additions:

1977

Completed the East Wing addition, more than doubling nursing home capacity.

1984 & 1993

Added a dedicated Intensive Care Unit (1984) and an advanced CT suite (1993).

1998

Built a 15,000-square-foot surgical addition on the west end of the hospital.

2013

Expanded and modernized the Emergency Room, patient rooms, waiting areas, Laboratory, and Radiology departments.

2015

Opened the Minidoka Medical Plaza to expand outpatient care and specialty access.

Minidoka Memorial Hospital

1224 8th Street
Rupert, ID 83350

Minidoka Medical Center RHC

1308 8th St #1
Rupert, ID 83350

Minidoka Memorial Orthopedic Center and Imaging

260 E 5th St N
Burley, ID 83318