Dr. P. Phillips Hospital

Description

Dr P Phillips Hospital is a fullservice medicalsurgical facility serving the residents of Southwest Orange County and Orlandos growing tourist population In addition to a highly qualified team of nurses support staff and physicians Dr P Phillips Hospital is equipped with the latest technology in diagnostic imaging and cardiovascular catheterization and angiography

A new program Orlando Health Stroke Center at Dr P Phillips Hospital recently opened to care for stroke patients to the level required by the Florida Stroke Act EMS transport systems now recognizes Dr P Phillips Hospital as a primary stroke center providing immediate comprehensive treatment for stroke patients in the southwest Orlando area


Another recent addition is the Perry Pavilion a home away from home providing affordable convenient accommodations for families of patients

As Southwest Orlando experiences unprecedented growth Dr P Phillips Hospital will soon undergo further expansion of its facilities and services Portions of the building project are expected to break ground in 2006 and at total build out Dr P Phillips Hospital will increase its current bed capacity from 150 to approximately 290 beds

History

Our Heritage
Not so long ago before crowded highways and abundant souvenir shops dotted the landscape southwest Orlando was a sleepy community nestled among lakes and orange groves The land was originally settled by Dr Philip Phillips who purchased a grove on the south side of Dr P Phillips in 1905 and built a thriving citrus industry Once considered the largest citrus producer in the world the Dr Phillips companies share a rich history spanning several generations Dr Phillips and the charities that carry his name The Dr P Phillips Foundation and Dr Phillips Inc have a rich history in Central Florida and continue to have a great impact on the lives of area residents

Dr Philip Phillips

Philip Phillips who would later be known simply as quotDocquot was born on January 27 1874 in Memphis Tennessee Born to French supply merchant Henri Phillippe and his wife Isabelle Phillips spent much of his childhood in Lebanon Tennessee later attending a prestigious medical school on the east coast After studying at New Yorks Columbia University earning the title that would become a moniker for central Florida citrus Dr Phillips gave in to his entrepreneurial spirit and made the decision to forgo the practice of medicine and move south toward a land of new opportunity Endowed with 5000 from his father the young doctor made his way to Florida where he purchased his first orange grove in Satsuma in 1894 laying the foundation for what would become his rather ambitious dream of being central Floridas citrus king

An unfortunate victim of chance Dr Phillips lost everything when in early 1895 Florida suffered one of the most devastating freezes in state history Two days of belowfreezing temperatures and acres of worthless trees forced the doctor to move back to his home state of Tennessee

In the years that followed Doc made a life for himself in Tennessee though it is hard to say with certainty how his time there was spent Some say that he opened a small medical practice and even became an investor in a local hardware store all the while continuing to explore the possibilities of the fledgling citrus industry In fact Phillips spent much of the late 1890s buying up small groves during brief visits to central Florida a prudent move that would eventually bear fruit

The sand still in his shoes and success on his mind in 1902 Dr Phillips packed his bags and once again made his way south this time with his sights set on Cuba and the promise of great economic potential Political unrest made him rethink his final destination though and the quotDocquot found himself once again in Florida this time settling in Kissimmee where he established a small cattle business he intended to grow alongside the orange groves
Not long after his arrival however Phillips found himself pulled from the herds drawn back to citrus and the maintenance of his many small groves In 1905 Doc moved his family from Kissimmee to Orlando purchasing a grove on Dr P Phillips after being assured that the area was quotfrost freequot

Dr Phillips was known for the many innovations that the company incorporated in the packaging and processing of orange juice As the family citrus business grew housing was established for workers in the Dr Phillips community and a post office was built to provide services From delivering turkeys to the families of the field hands on Christmas morning to establishing a hospital for the sole purpose of caring for local black families to planning an entire community around the needs of his employees Doc Phillips was a pioneer in far more than just Central Florida citrus He was a visionary in the realm of human need and a man worthy of the epitaph quotUnder his hand the wilderness bore fruit

Orlando Regional Healthcare

Miles away from the lush Dr Phillips groves a small hospital was born on what was to become Orange Avenue near downtown Orlando In 1918 the 50bed Orange General Hospital was the vision of a small group of physicians Over the years as Orlando grew the hospital changed names to reflect the changing community In 1946 it became known as Orange Memorial Hospital in honor of World War II veterans In the 1970s the hospital merged with nearby Holiday Hospital to form Orlando Regional Medical Center Inc Further expansion during the 1980s as well as the addition of community hospitals led the system to its current name Orlando Regional Healthcare As one of Floridas largest private notforprofit hospital systems the doctors nurses and staff have always served central Florida with the highest level of care and cuttingedge technology

Traditions Merge

In 1981 a generation after Dr Phillips acquired his first orange grove on the shores of Sand Lake Orlando Regional Healthcare entered into an agreement to acquire the land from Dr Phillips Inc John Hillenmeyer current president and CEO of Orlando Regional Healthcare led the design and building of Dr P Phillips Hospital which opened in 1985 Twentyone years later the Dr Phillips Charities and Orlando Regional Healthcare are again teaming up to bring Dr P Phillips Hospital to the verge of an exciting new expansion quotIn the late 1940s Dr Phillips a true visionary hired a land planner to fulfill a dream of establishing a selfsupporting community where people would live work and playquot said Jim Hinson chairman of the board of both The Dr P Phillips Foundation and Dr Phillips Inc quotSeveral years ago the land that represented the first successful citrus grove that Dr Phillips owned was provided to ORHS for the establishment of a community hospital Now through the consideration of the ORHS Foundation we have the opportunity to place another jewel in the crown of the Dr Phillips community with the changing of the name of the hospital to The Dr P Phillips Hospitalquot

Born over twenty years ago Dr P Phillips Hospital is now proudly bearing a new name The Dr P Phillips Hospital With a full range of services including a 24hour emergency department critical care unit cardiac catheterizationangiography lab and stroke center expansion plans include a 5story tower new lobby and parking deck Additional operating rooms and critical care beds are being added along with enhanced support services Construction has already begun and bed tower is expected to be completed by Summer 2008

quotThe longstanding relationship between Dr Phillips Inc The Dr P Phillips Foundation and ORHS has lead to the development and expansion of a medical facility that not only serves the residents of the Dr Phillips community but also surrounding areas and visitors to central Floridaquot said Ed F Furey III president of Dr Phillips Inc and executive vice president and treasurer of The Dr P Phillips Foundation quotWe are proud to continue the legacy of the Phillips family and look forward to a bright future for the Dr Phillips community and central Floridaquot