Perry County Memorial Hospital anchors local health care, emergency access

A rural lifeline in Tell City

Perry County Memorial Hospital is more than the place people go in a crisis. In a county of about 19,270 residents, it is where many families turn for emergency care, routine visits, follow-up treatment and services that would otherwise require a longer drive out of Perry County. The hospital says it serves Tell City and the surrounding region, and with more than 315 employees, it is also one of the county’s larger employers.

That daily role matters in practical ways. A parent with a sick child, an older resident who needs imaging, or a patient without easy transportation can reach care without waiting on a trip to Evansville or another farther medical center. In a rural county, that can mean the difference between quick treatment and a delay that makes a problem worse.

Built from a local push

The hospital’s roots go back to 1945, when local leaders moved to convert the Perry County Infirmary into a hospital using surplus Hospital Field Units. The project was not just a government initiative. Commissioners received a petition with about 5,000 signatures supporting construction, a sign that the county wanted a modern hospital of its own.

The site for the hospital was donated by Roy Fenn, and the financing plan was assembled in three parts, with roughly one-third federal funding, one-third county bonding and one-third donations. The hospital says it was the first Indiana hospital to use funding made available under the Hill-Burton-Hatch Law, a notable detail in its history and a reminder that Perry County helped shape its own care system early on.

By October 1950, the building was finished and staffed. More than seven decades later, the same institution still anchors local health care in Tell City and remains tied to the county’s identity as a place where residents built essential services through local effort.

What residents can get close to home

Indiana Department of Health records list Perry County Memorial Hospital as a 25-bed state-licensed and Medicare-certified hospital. That small-bed critical access structure is part of what makes the hospital valuable in a rural setting, because it is designed to keep core services available nearby rather than push everything to a distant regional center.

The hospital’s consumer report lists a broad mix of services that cover a wide range of everyday needs and urgent situations. Those services include a dedicated emergency department, CT scanning, MRI, nuclear medicine, obstetric service, neonatal nursery, operating rooms, orthopedic surgery, outpatient services, pediatric services and pharmacy.

That breadth matters because residents do not just use the hospital when something catastrophic happens. It is also where they go for childbirth-related care, imaging, outpatient procedures, bone and joint treatment, children’s care and prescriptions that can be filled without leaving the county. Jared Stimpson is listed as administrator in the Indiana Department of Health consumer report, and the hospital’s current license expiration date is June 30, 2026.

The clinic network extends the reach

Perry County Memorial Hospital’s access points do not stop at the main hospital campus. The hospital says it operates six off-campus clinics, giving residents more places to get care without building a whole day around travel. That network is especially important for routine appointments, follow-up after procedures and ongoing treatment for chronic conditions.

Among the listed locations is Perry County Memorial Hospital Home Health & Hospice at 115 Hwy. 66 E. in Tell City. Home health and hospice services are often the quiet backbone of rural care, helping patients recover at home or stay comfortable near the end of life without unnecessary travel.

The women, children and family medicine clinic at 148 13th Street Suite A in Tell City offers weekday hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., walk-ins are accepted, and same-day appointments are available. The pulmonology and sleep medicine clinic at 148 13th Street in Tell City also keeps weekday hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and offers same-day appointments. For families balancing work, school and transportation challenges, that kind of access can turn a missed appointment into a manageable errand.

Why this hospital matters in Perry County

The county government describes Perry County as a rural county in southern Indiana, and that geography helps explain why a local hospital carries so much weight. In Tell City, Cannelton and Troy, people are often deciding not only what kind of care they need, but how far they would have to travel to get it. For aging residents, people with limited mobility and families without a second vehicle, local access is not a convenience. It is part of basic health security.

The Perry County Memorial Hospital Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, adds another layer of support. The foundation says it most recently donated funds toward the new Main Street Clinic, showing how philanthropy still helps sustain and expand the county’s care network. That kind of support matters in a small market where every new service point can reduce the need to leave the county for routine care.

Leadership has also continued to evolve. In March 2026, Becker’s Hospital Review reported that Nick Harley was promoted from chief operating officer to chief executive officer, a reminder that the hospital is actively managing its future even as it carries a long history. The combination of local roots, current staffing and a service mix that reaches from emergency care to outpatient treatment keeps Perry County Memorial Hospital at the center of how this county gets medical care close to home.