page_title: Stella, Missouri
section_title: Hospital closure and EPA clean up
hierarchical_section_title: Stella, Missouri / Cardwell Hospital / Hospital closure and EPA clean up
caption_attribution_description: English: The former Cardwell Hospital in Stella, Missouri in 2004, shortly before it was torn down and removed because of asbestos contamination.
context_page_description: Stella is a village in southern Newton County, Missouri, United States. The population was 158 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village of Stella is located 17 miles southeast of Neosho.
context_section_description: Cardwell Memorial Osteopathic Hospital closed in 1977, but the building was soon reopened as a residential care facility owned by Don and Vera Littlefield. But this venture proved short lived and the building was vacant by the mid-1980s. After sitting empty for nearly 20 years, the residents of Stella, seeking to revive the town's business district, proposed a plan to convert the empty hospital building into a multipurpose building complex, which would house a clinic, a library, city hall, retail space and residential units. However, due to considerable asbestos contamination at the site, the decision was made to remove the now derelict structure. Because of the nature of the contamination, the Environmental Protection Agency declared the former Cardwell Hospital building a superfund site and assisted the town in removing it. In the summer of 2006, the former Cardwell Hospital was torn down and the site was decontaminated, making it safe for other uses. Following the removal of the building, the site was redeveloped as the Stella Veterans Memorial park, which is dedicated to veterans from the Stella area.
caption: The former Cardwell Hospital in Stella, Missouri in 2004, shortly before it was torn down and removed because of asbestos contamination.
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