The Drake Center in Hartwell has a history that traces back more than 150 years. Key moments include:

1851: A hospital called the City Infirmary opens on a knoll in Hartwell.

1924: Renamed the Hamilton County Home, the campus is run by the county as a nursing home and infirmary for the poor.

1952: Home is rebuilt into a five-story, 340-bed complex called Daniel Drake Memorial Hospital.

1960s and '70s: Focus shifts more to long-term care and rehabilitation.

1987: Donald Harvey, a former nurse's aide at Drake, pleads guilty to killing 21 patients. He later confessed to killing a total of 25 Drake patients and nine more murders in Kentucky. The scandal nearly forces Drake to close.

1989: County officials agree to reorganize and rename facility as the Drake Center, making it a private, nonprofit organization affiliated with the University of Cincinnati. Despite the Harvey scandal, voters renew tax levy.

1994: The biggest portion of an $87 million rebuilding project is completed. Drake's focus shifts further from long-term nursing care toward providing advanced rehabilitation care, post-hospital recovery care and outpatient therapy.

Present: Drake serves more than 6,700 patients a year, providing a mix of rehabilitation services, nursing care and post-hospital recovery. About 20 percent of its budget is paid by the county tax levy.

Tim Bonfield