East Alabama Medical Center

Description

MISSION
High quality compassionate health care

Our core purpose our mission as an organization is simple yet important to provide high quality compassionate health care

VISION
To be a national leader in quality cost and service

In order to achieve our vision East Alabama Medical Center has made a commitment to the continued pursuit of excellence with all of our partners to improve the quality of life for those we serve to measure our progress against the highest standards in quality of care and quality of service and to be fiscally responsible with our assets

VALUES
Excellence

Integrity

Compassion

Respect

Teamwork

Values define what we fundamentally believe in Values are the basic principles that influence our decisions and actions on a daily basis EAMCs shared core values are Excellence Integrity Compassion Respect and Teamwork

History

1940
Click to View Slideshow1945 Winston Smith T and other concerned citizens meet at the Opelika Chamber of Commerce to discuss the future health care needs of Lee County At the time most area residents were using Opelika Hospital a 25bed facility located at the corner of 9th Street and 3rd Avenue

Late 1940s US Senator Lister Hill of Montgomery Alabama helps write the HillBurton Act that provides matching federal funds for communities seeking to build a hospital Mr Smith T and others apply for and received this federal funding They receive a portion of their local funding from Pepperell Manufacturing Company the business that also donated the land where the hospital was built

1950
Click to View Slideshow1950 A 9member board of directors is established for Lee County Hospital in June with Winston Smith T serving as the chairman That fall construction of the hospital begins BatsonCook Company of West Point Georgia constructs the 81bed hospital in less than 18 months at a cost of 900000

1951 The Womens Auxiliary of Lee County Hospital organizes in the fall of this year to arrange for volunteers in the hospital Mrs LW Dot Montgomery Jr is the first Auxiliary president

1952 An open house for Lee County Hospital is held on February 10th and 11th Senator Lister Hill addresses the crowd at the dedication service When the hospital opens it has 70 employees and 13 doctors Dr Byron S Bruce serves as the hospitals first Chief of Staff The first patient Iva Dean Sharpe is seen on February 16th Mrs Sharpes baby girl Deanna is delivered by Dr James Walker

1959 The hospital receives its first accreditation by The Joint Commission

1960
Click to View Slideshow1962 The hospitals first expansion takes place as 30 beds are added and a 37bed nursing home is constructed

1964 Dr William Lazenby a general surgeon joins the medical staff Lazenby was instrumental in recruiting many other specialists and served on the board of directors for 36 years 19682004

1965 Lee County Hospital complies with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meaning the hospital would no longer have segregated patient rooms restrooms entrances or dining areas

1967 Another expansion brings the bed total to 67 for the nursing home and 116 for the hospital

1969 At the end of 1969 the hospital has 283 employees 147 volunteers and 32 doctors

1970
Click to View Slideshow1971 Because of high occupancy rates and a need for more beds the hospital ends its nursing home service and replaces it with general hospital beds When the conversion is complete the hospital has a total of 164 hospital beds

1973 The hospital breaks ground on an expansion project Phase I of a longrange plan to increase the number of beds from 164 to 218 The 974 million project would also bring about major renovations throughout the building and give the hospital a new white concrete faccedilade and canopy along Pepperell Parkway

1975 Seventeen years prior to opening its Cancer Center the hospital purchases a Cobalt 60 xray therapy machine for 450000 to treat cancer Also the hospitals first female physician Soma Nagendran begins practicing at Lee County Hospital this year

1977 The hospital celebrates its 25th anniversary and so do five employees who were still employed since day one Eunice Bartlett Willie Echols Odessa Shumate Doris Southers and Mable Story

1980
Click to View Slideshow1980 Phase II of the hospitals longrange expansion plan takes place bringing the bed capacity to 228 and adding such features as a 250seat cafeteria an expanded kitchen an education complex a gift shop and additional parking At this time the hospital has 657 employees 268 volunteers and 60 physicians

1981 After 29 years as Lee County Hospital the name of the hospital is changed to East Alabama Medical Center in July A new logo was created and is still in use today

1982 West Point Pepperell donates an additional 1287 acres at the rear of the hospital for the purpose of adding parking spaces

1983 The hospital comes under management by National Healthcare and three of the people assigned to EAMC are Jonathan Farr CEO Terry Andrus COO and Dale Mulder CFO In late 1983 Andrus would become the new EAMC Administrator a position he still holds today During this year the hospital starts Phase III of its expansion project

1985 Phase III was completed in the spring of this year and a Grand Opening was held on May 26 The 10 million expansionknown as the South Bed Tower expansioncreated a new brick faccedilade along Pepperell Parkway This expansion brought the total number of beds to 334 This year also marks the beginning of EAMCs cardiology program as Dr John Mitchell performed the hospitals first heart catheterization in July

1987 EAMCs heart program expands this year as doctors John Garrett and David Cleveland perform the hospitals first openheart procedure The patient is Bobby Sizemore an EAMC employee at the time who actually helped install the equipment The EAMC Foundation is established with Judy Jackson serving as director from 1987 2007

1988 With funds from the Foundations first capital campaign the Pediatric unit is renovated and renamed Pediasaurus

1989 The first laser angioplasty at EAMC is performed by Dr John Mitchell The Foundation holds its first endowment gala and raises 25000

1990
Click to View Slideshow1990 Dr Wendell Gaillard a physician on staff since 1973 is named chiefofstaff making him the first AfricanAmerican to serve in that role at EAMC

1991 EAMCs Cornerstone Society is established after an employee loses her husband and her home to a fire Cornerstone is an employee assistance program that helps employees who have experienced a crisis in their lives Also this year Hospice of Lee Countypreviously run by volunteersbecomes a service of the hospital

1992 During 1992the 40th anniversary of the hospitalthe Cancer Center of EAMC opens Roughly half of the 3 million price tag was paid for through a capital campaign orchestrated by the EAMC Foundation

1993 Construction continues this year as the 50000squarefoot Outpatient Services Center is completed and opens

1994 EAMC opens a 4bed Sleep Disorders Lab and starts a Home Care business

1995 Cornerstone builds the 1st of its 5 Habitat for Humanity houses for employees

1997 EAMC purchases a 37acre tract of land near the mall in Auburn for the purpose of building Auburn Medical Park

1999 Camellia Place an assisted and retirement living facility opens at Auburn Medical Park EAMC is listed among the Top 100 Heart Hospitals in the US

A New Century
Click to View Slideshow2000 The states first freestanding inpatient hospice facility opens at Auburn Medical Park in October and is named Bethany House A capital campaign by the Foundation helps raise more than 850000 for the 10bed facility HealthPlus Fitness Center opens shortly thereafter on the same campus EAMC is once more listed among the Top 100 Heart Hospitals in the US Also the hospital is named to Fortune magazines list of the 100 Best Places to Work in America for 2001 The hospital was ranked 36 that year

2001 EAMC is listed again among the Top 100 Heart Hospitals in the US one of only 19 hospitals nationwide to make the list all 3 years More honors are bestowed upon the hospital as EAMC earns an Alabama Quality Award and is recognized by Press Ganey for its consistently high scores in patient satisfaction

2002 EAMC celebrates its 50th anniversary As part of the celebration officials bury a time capsule near the flagpole with various items in it including a newspaper from 1952 touting the hospitals opening Also this year EAMC purchases Atria I and II retirement communities and names them Magnolia Place and Azalea Place A few employees participate in the hospitals first international mission trip to Guaimaca Honduras EAMC is once again named to Fortune magazines list of the 100 Best Places to Work in America coming in at 18 The hospital is then informed by Fortune that EAMC will no longer be eligible to apply since the rules were changed to exclude publicsector agencies

2003 EAMC announces plans for its Phase IV expansion project Plus the hospital adds several new services AIDS Outreach HomeMed Forensic Toxicology Lab and Oak Park Retirement Living and Nursing Home previously Wesley Terrace

2005 The Wound Treatment Center opens With the completion of a 4story parking deck construction on Phase IV begins The 60 million project will take more than 2 years to complete

2006 The EAMC Prenatal Clinic opens Also EAMC sends its first group of employees to New Orleans to assist with the recovery effort following Hurricane Katrina Five teams of employees work on the Gulf Coast between 2006 and 2008 The West Pavilionthe first part of the Phase IV projectopens in October It consists of CVICU Cardiac Rehab ICU and 10 operating rooms A month later the 5th floor of the expansion project opens

2008 EAMC continues to diversify by purchasing or contracting to operate a number of Sleep Centers in Alabama and Mississippi

2009 AIDS Outreach of EAMC changes it name to Unity Wellness Center and opens a clinic to provide medical care one day per week The Forensic Toxicology Lab changes its name to Aperian Lab Solutions EAMC is one of 34 health care providers nationwide to receive a grant from Cardinal Health Foundation for a program to reduce catheterassociated urinary tract infections EAMC opens a primary care physicians office in Auburn Primary Medicine Associates staffed by Dr Debra McCormack and Dr Brian Wood