How It All Began

The Macon of the late 1890s was a bustling, rapidly growing community with much to offer – with the exception of a hospital. However, hospitalization was a relatively new concept. Those were the days of “horse-and-buggy doctors” who made their rounds by visiting patients in their homes. But a group of concerned Macon citizens decided that their growing community needed a facility within the town to care for the sick and injured. On Jan. 23, 1894, a charter was granted to incorporate the Macon Hospital Association. And just over a year later on March 27, 1895, The Macon Hospital, now The Medical Center of Central Georgia, officially opened its doors. 

The First Facility

The original hospital was a two-story, eight-room brick former residence built in 1844. The building, which had also housed the Bibb County Academy, was located at 820 Pine St. and purchased by the city for $7,000. Since hospitals were so new, the community recruited a young physician from Atlanta, Dr. Olin H. Weaver, to help organize the new facility. On opening day, the hospital offered accommodations for four private and 16 ward patients. Operating rooms and wards were located in the outbuildings at the rear of the property. A local newspaper reported at the time that “the building as it now stands is most gratifying. Nowhere in the city could there have been found a more desirable site, high enough to feel every cooling breeze that blows, isolated enough to insure perfect quiet, with plenty of space around in which to spread to any needed extent.” However, young Dr. Weaver wasn’t so impressed when he arrived days before the official opening. During an interview in 1947, Dr. Weaver recalled, “…I was much disappointed when we stopped in front of the present site. A former residence used now as an office and part hospital, with three cheaply built wooden shacks in the back yard, greeted my eyes.”  Charlie Snipes, the hack driver who brought the doctor from Union Station to the new hospital, was equally unimpressed. When the two pulled up to the hospital, Snipes looked around in disbelief. “This is the hospital? You won’t git me here in this place!” Snipes proclaimed. He would soon change his mind.

First Patient

At the turn of the century, many Americans shared Snipes’ fears of hospitalization. Before that time, there were few hospitals accessible to the working class, so most people were unfamiliar with hospitals and thought they were experimental – a place of lost hope and no return. However, that attitude slowly changed in Macon – beginning with Charlie Snipes. Just days after escorting Dr. Weaver to the new hospital, Snipes was seriously injured when his dray collided with a switch engine as he loaded some freight at Union Station. Dr. Howard Williams, a surgeon for the Central Georgia Railroad, asked Dr. Weaver for permission to bring Snipes to the new hospital. Despite is early vow to avoid the facility, Snipes become the hospital’s first patient on the evening before the official opening when Dr. Williams and a local physician, Dr. Henry McHatton, amputated Snipes’ arm. Hospital records reveal the patient’s diagnosis upon discharge in a single word: “Cured.” 

Physicians Welcome the New Hospital

When Dr. Weaver first opened the hospital as its first administrator, he also had to serve as housekeeper, cashier, druggist, physician, surgeon, pathologist and laboratory technician – quite a feat. Dr. Weaver and his original staff of seven – one nurse, two maids, two orderlies, one cook and the nurse superintendent, Mrs. Susan P. Crawford – served a population of 22,000. But despite these conditions, Macon’s death rate was 1.45 percent, the lowest of any city in the United States. However, things quickly changed as area physicians welcomed the hospital. Early records credit the initial success of the hospital to Dr. William F. Holt, first chairman of the Medical Board, and Dr. McHatton, his successor. Sharing modern medical equipment in one central location was also popular with physicians. By the time the hospital got its first X-ray machine in 1916, 35 local physicians were associated with the hospital. Those physicians included surgeons; internists; gynecologists; eye, ear, nose and throat specialists; pediatricians; obstetricians; a dermatologist; a dental surgeon; a genito-urinary specialist; and a radiographer. 

·         Jan. 23, 1894 – A Charter is granted to incorporate the Macon Hospital Association to establish Macon’s first hospital.

·         March 26, 1895 – Dr. Howard Williams, a surgeon for the Central Georgia Railroad, and local physician, Dr. Henry McHatton, admit the hospital’s first patient and perform the first operation in the new facility – an amputation.

·         March 27, 1895 – Macon Hospital officially opens.

·         1898 – The John J. Greshem Building is completed at a cost of $8,000. It is the first of many expansions.

·         1901 – The hospital’s Training School for Nurses opens.

·         1905 – The Women’s Auxiliary sponsors the construction of a three-story addition.

·         1907 – The Hospital governance changes to a board association and Association is dropped from the hospital name.

·         1915 – The City of Macon assumes ownership of Macon Hospital, and the Board of Hospital Commissioners is established.

·         1916 – Construction begins on three new buildings. An Outpatient Clinic (later becomes the Ambulatory Care Center and later renamed the W.T. Anderson Health Center) is established.

·         1923 – The hospital campus now consists of eight buildings and 155 patient beds.

·         1927 – The hospital’s Surgery Residency Program is accredited by the American College of Surgeons.

·         1933 – Hospital patients now receive routine lab test upon admission.

·         1939 – The Cancer Clinic opens.

·         1940 – The hospital’s Blood Bank is established.

·         1944 – The hospital experiences a physician shortage during World War II.

·         1956 – An $11 million expansion project is completed, increasing the hospital’s bed capacity to 501. Hospital Police established.

·         1957 – The School of Radiologic Technology opens.

·         1958 – The hospital opens the first psychiatric unit in Macon.

·         1960 – The hospital becomes a member of the American Hospital Association.

·         1961 – The Poison Control Center is established.

·         1962 – The Hospital Auxiliary is founded, and the School for Operating Room Technicians is established.

·         1965 – The hospital is integrated.

·         1966 – The Cardiac Care Unit opens – the second one in the state of Georgia. The hospital Auxiliary donates $90,000 of monitoring equipment of the new unit. In honor of the Auxiliary, “Code Pink” becomes the official call for summoning personnel to the aid of cardiac patients. Medicare also begins.

·         1967 – The Inhalation Therapy Department is established.

·         1968 – The Hospital Authority is formed, and a $10.5 million expansion program begins. A new era at the hospital begins with the appointment of Damon King as the administrator and CEO.

·         1969 – The Outpatient Respiratory Unit opens, and ground is broken for the East Tower Building.

·         1970 – The hospital establishes the first Neuro Intensive Care Unit in the South, possibly the nation, and the Respiratory Disease Unit opens. 

The Hospital Takes on a New Name, Leadership Role

Development continued as the hospital acquired a new name in 1971 to better reflect its role as a healthcare leader – The Medical Center of Central Georgia. As “The Med” assumed a stronger role in meeting regional healthcare needs, no longer were patients limited to receiving services within the walls of the original facility. 

·         1971 – The hospital becomes The Medical Center and opens the East Tower Building.

·         1972 – The Medical Center’s new Intensive Care Unit is dedicated

·         1973 – The Medcen Foundation, with strong support from J.W. Eversole, M.D., is established, allowing the hospital to accept contributions from private donors.

·         1974 – The Family Practice Residency Program is established.

·         1975 – The Acute Dialysis and Neonatal Intensive Care units open. Hospital Police become a fully functional police agency.

·         1977 – The Medical Center opens the first Ambulatory Care Center for uninsured and underinsured patients. The first open-heart surgery in Central Georgia is performed at The Med. Ground is broken for the Doctors’ Office Building.

·         1978 – The Nursing School closes. The Cardiac Cath Lab opens.

·         1979 – The Med’s Terrace Building is occupied.

·         1981 – The Medical Center becomes the primary site for Mercer University’s clinical medical education.

·         1982 – The West Tower expansion is dedicated.

·         1984 – The General Surgery Residency Program affiliates with Mercer University School of Medicine. The Med receives national recognition as a national leader in patient education.

·         1986 – The Internal Medicine Residency Program receives accreditation.

·         1987 – The Children’s Hospital at The Med, the only one in Central and South Georgia, is established.

·         1988 – The Wellness Center opens.

·         1991 – The Surgery Center and Family Health Center are completed. The operation of Macon Health Club is turned over to The Med. The All Faiths Chapel is dedicated. The Diabetes Treatment Center opens.

·         1993 – The Volunteer Chaplaincy Program is developed.

·         1994 – The Medical Center is ranked as one of the top 100 hospitals in the nation and one of the top-performing hospitals among teaching hospitals with more than 250 beds. Reorganization of The Med begins when Central Georgia Health System is established as The Medical Center’s parent company. Damon King retires as the president of The Medical Center and becomes president and CEO of Central Georgia Health System. Don Faulk is named president of the hospital.

·         1996 – The Endodiagnostic Center, located on the second floor, opens as a one-stop outpatient unit.

·         1997 – The Medical Center launches its website.

·         1998 – The Emergency Center at The Med becomes the areas only Level 1 Trauma Center in the area, becoming only the fourth in the state of Georgia to earn the designation. Damon King retires as president of Central Georgia Health System. Don Faulk becomes president and CEO of both the system and hospital.

·         2000 – The Med is selected as Macon’s provider hospital for Blue Cross, as well as for state workers in the area. The long-awaited Peyton Anderson Health Education Center opens. Healthgrades.com names the Georgia Heart Center at The Medical Center a 5-Star Heart Center. Renovation of the Ambulatory Care Center’s pharmacy is complete and the facility is renamed the W.T. Anderson Health Center. Outpatient Rehab Services moves to a bigger and improved location across the street from The Med.

 Today and Into the Future

So far this year, The Med has already seen the beginning of the Emergency Center expansion/renovation project, and the opening of the Central Georgia Breast Care Center. As The Med enters the new millennium, we will continue to meet the healthcare needs of our community by providing the latest technology, knowledgeable staff and updated facilities combined with caring, compassionate service. With many more exciting developments just around the corner, we ask that you check back with us often as we continue our quest to be your “partner in health for life.”