Sanford Health has reopened the newly renovated Sioux Empire Medical Museum and dedicated it to the Sioux Valley Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association.

The Sioux Empire Medical Museum opened in 1975 thanks to the efforts of countless alumni. It was South Dakota’s first medical museum and remains the state’s only to this day. It closed temporarily in recent years for the remodel.

Now, visitors will be taken through the history of nursing through video, photos, historical medical equipment, uniforms, and panels of information.

One of the highlights of the museum is an Iron Lung. When polio first hit the region in the 1940s, the Iron Lung was used to treat patients who contracted the disease. These machines were used to help patients breathe artificially until they could breathe on their own again, typically after a few weeks.