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Citizen
involvement in hospital health care needs is a tradition that began with
Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Gary in the late 1920's. The lack of modern
hospital facilities in Macon County prompted the Gary's to envision,
build, and equip a hospital in Macon.
In early 1943,
the judges of the Macon Country Court signed an agreement to take over
management of the hospital, and the hospital was officially named Macon
County Samaritan Memorial Hospital. County voters passed a bond issue to
purchase and maintain the hospital. Citizen support of the hospital
throughout the county was reflected in a six to one majority vote for
the bond issue.
As needs
continued to grow and change, the vision to provide quality hospital
care in Macon County led to a series of expansion and improvement
projects over the years.
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1963:
A three-story addition to the south end of the hospital increased the bed
capacity from 25 to 36 beds. |
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1969: A wing was
added to the south end of the hospital, adding a kitchen, dining
room and additional patient rooms. |
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1972: The
hospital was a 48-bed institution. At this time, an ambulance garage and
elevator were added. |
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1979: Further growth provided a wing to increase space for labs, x-ray, emergency
room, obstetrics and nursery, physical therapy, medical records,
administrative office and a waiting area. |
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1986: A major
expansion added 12 patient rooms, two surgery suites with
support area, a three-bed monitored care unit, nurses station, larger
medical records and lab area and an elevator. |
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1993: To meet the
special needs of older citizens, an addition to the southwest corner of
the hospital was combined with portions of existing space to create a
nine-bed geriatric psychiatric unit, called Senior Care. |
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1997: Due to the
increasing demand in outpatient services, a new building was added. This provided much needed space for specialty clinics (including
chemotherapy treatment), physical therapy, patient accounts, and a
wellness center for cardiopulmonary rehabilitation. A new main entrance
was also created, as well as remodeling and expansion to the existing
laboratory, emergency room, radiology, and maternity department to accommodate
future growth. |
Throughout the years citizens have served
as trustees for the hospital. The five trustees, who donate their time, work with hospital
administration in making decisions that affect the hospital's operation.
Organized in 1955, the hospital Auxiliary has
provided contributions for hospital furnishings and decor, scholarships
for health professionals, small equipment, books and magazines, and
landscaping, among other services. In addition, some hospital
improvements have been made possible through generous bequests from the
estates of community-minded residents.
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