The Clarinda Municipal Hospital opened its doors to the public on September 12, 1939. In 1964 and 1974 additions were built for a total licensed capacity of 47 beds. In 1977 a Doctor’s Building and clinic were added. Extensive remodeling was accomplished in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s to adapt to changes in medicine and health care.

In 1997 the name of the facility was changed to the Clarinda Regional Health Center (CRHC), in order to more accurately reflect the function of the facility and the area it serves. The Emergency Department (E.R.) and outreach clinic areas were completely remodeled in the late 1990’s to make the facility more patient friendly and accessible.

CRHC operates several community clinics within a 30-mile footprint. In 1997, CRHC opened Villisca Family Health Center located in Villisca, Iowa. A remodel and expansion of their clinic was finished in 2019 to better help meet the needs of the community. It’s staffed five days a week with two full-time providers and an overseeing medical director. In 2019, Bedford Family Health Center was reestablished in the same building that CRHC previously had a clinic in many years ago. The Bedford clinic currently operates four days a week with two providers, who also see patients in Clarinda, and an overseeing medical director. Lastly, in 2020, CRHC opened a mental health facility, Clarinda Mental Health Center, on their campus situated to the Northeast of the hospital. Currently the mental health clinic is staffed by two full time mental health providers, one mental health counselor, one licensed social worker and an overseeing medical director. They are open five days a week for a variety of mental health services.