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Baptist Memorial Health Care - History
 
Daily Bread
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Matthew 5:44
What started as a 150-bed medical center in the heart of Memphis has grown into a multi-state health care organization serving the heart of the Mid-South. About 13,000 people work within the Baptist system providing quality health care to patients and their families. Here are some of the highlights of Baptist's 90-plus years of service:



1906: A proposed Baptist hospital in Memphis is first mentioned.

1908: A board of trustees comprising representatives from Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi is organized on March 11. Its main concern is raising money to open the hospital.



1912: The 150-bed Baptist Memorial Hospital opens. Opened on July 22, the seven-story building was built at a cost of $235,000.

1918: A 100-bed south wing is erected at a cost of $273,000, increasing the hospital capacity to 250 beds.



1920: A new east wing is completed at a cost of about $270,000.

1922: Baptist is the largest privately owned hospital in the South.



1935: Baptist is the first hospital in the Mid-South to offer physical therapy.

1937: An eight-story pavilion is added on the south side of Baptist, providing space for hospital offices on the first floor and increasing bed capacity to 500.



1947: Baptist is one of the first hospitals in the country to install automatic elevators.



1950: In August, Baptist records an all-time high for hospital occupancy. Daily average occupancy is 514, 98 percent for the 525-bed facility. A record 23,223 patients are cared for during this year, and of those, 7,231 received free treatment at a cost of $298,199.

1953: Baptist breaks ground on the Madison East hospital addition.

1955: Baptist is the first in the region to install air conditioning when the Madison East Building is completed.

1955: On July 20, a record 613 patients are cared for at Baptist.

1956: The much-anticipated new 13-story Madison East addition opens, bringing the hospital bed capacity to 800.

1958: The Baptist Medical Building, a 10-story office building for doctors at the corner of Dudley and Monroe streets in downtown Memphis, opens.

1959: Baptist is the first Mid-South hospital, and among the first 10 in the nation, to establish a satellite unit, the Regional Rehabilitation Center.



1960: Baptist opens a 22-bed intensive care unit.

1960: Baptist is the first hospital in the nation to install a computer for accounts billing.

1964: The Medical Center Plaza Building opens, which includes new hotel facilities for patient families.

1967: An 18-story addition to the Union East Unit opens, bringing the hospital's bed capacity to 1,825.

1969: The American Hospital Association releases statistics that show Baptist is the third-largest hospital in the nation in terms of patient admissions.



1971: Baptist opens a newborn intensive care unit.

1974: Baptist is the first hospital in Memphis and only the third in the country to install a first generation unit of an EMI/CAT head-only scanner.

1979: Baptist Memorial Hospital-East, a sister hospital to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Medical Center, opens to meet patient demand in rapidly growing East Shelby County, Tennessee.

1979: Obstetric services move from Baptist Medical Center to Baptist East on Father's Day.



1980: Baptist acquires a hospital in Ripley, Tenn. (Lauderdale County)

1981: Baptist Memorial Health Care System Inc., a multi-hospital system with Baptist Memorial Hospital-Medical Center as the flagship institution, is established.

1981: Baptist acquires a hospital in Covington, Tenn. (Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton)

1982: There are a total of 2,068 licensed beds at Baptist.

1982: Baptist Memorial Hospital-Lauderdale is rebuilt.

1982: Baptist acquires a hospital in Booneville, Miss. (Baptist Memorial Hospital-Booneville)

1982: Baptist acquires a hospital in Union City, Tenn. (Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City)

1983: Baptist acquires a hospital in Huntingdon, Tenn. (Baptist Memorial Hospital-Huntingdon)

1983: Baptist acquires a hospital in Forrest City, Ark.

1986: Baptist Forrest City gets a new facility.

1988: Baptist builds a hospital in Southaven, Miss. (Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto)

1989: Baptist acquires a hospital in Oxford, Miss. (Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi)

1989: Baptist acquires a hospital in New Albany, Miss. (Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County)



1990: Baptist acquires twin hospitals in Osceola (Baptist Memorial Hosptial-Osceola) and Blytheville, Ark. (Baptist Memorial Hosptial-Blytheville)

1993: Baptist acquires a hospital in Columbus, Miss. (Baptist Memorial Hosptial-Golden Triangle)

1997: Baptist announces plans for a $400 million expansion project, and a merger begins with Memphis' St. Joseph Hospital. Plans are announced for a freestanding women's hospital and a Baptist Heart Institute on the campus of Baptist East.

1999: Baptist opens a new hospital in Collierville, Tenn. (Baptist Memorial Hosptial-Collierville)



2000: The last patients at the Medical Center are transferred on Nov. 17.

2001: The University of Tennessee, the newly formed Memphis Biotech Foundation, and Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation reach a series of preliminary agreements on a major gift of land and facilities and the establishment of a new biotechnology research park on the Medical Center campus of Baptist Memorial Health Care. The Memphis Biotech Foundation, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) and Baptist will become partners in the UT-Baptist Research Park, a project that will extend Baptist's traditional mission in the Medical Center.

2001: Baptist East officially changes its name to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis.

2001: The Baptist Heart Institute opens on the Baptist Memphis campus.

2001: Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women, one of only a few freestanding women's hospitals in the country, opens on the Baptist Memphis campus. Unparalleled in the Mid-South, the hospital meets the needs of women through every stage of life and health, offering innovative services and technology, as well as the comforts and conveniences of home.

2002: Baptist announces a $175 million expansion project at Baptist DeSoto. The certificate of need filed by Baptist becomes the largest in Mississippi history.



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