Some came on foot, bundled up against the bitter winter cold. More came by automobile and streetcar.

Horse-drawn wagons brought others. In all, 5,000 people crowded shoulder to shoulder on "hospital hill" to be a part of dedication ceremonies for Southeast Missouri Hospital on January 8, 1928.

Many who had played a role in the founding of Southeast Missouri Hospital shared a common pride as Dr. B.A. Wilkes, superintendent of the Missouri Baptist Sanitarium in St. Louis, praised the community for work put forth in the establishment of the Hospital. 

As president of the Mid-West Hospital Association, Dr. Wilkes was regarded as an "eminent authority" on medical and surgical matters.

As part of his remarks, he said: "Never, in all my travels, have I come across a better constructed hospital than this one. Every space is utilized in the best manner possible, and it has as solid construction as the Rock of Gibraltar."