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Description

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About Garden Park
Garden Park Medical Center is a 130bed acute care facility located at the intersection of I10 and Hwy 49 in Gulfport The hospital provides an extensive array of inpatient and outpatient services including 24hour emergency room services The hospital is an affiliate of HCA Inc the nations leading provider of healthcare services with 170 hospitals and 113 outpatient centers in 20 states England and Switzerland and is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations

Mission Statement
Garden Park Medical Center is dedicated to providing quality healthcare services while maintaining its financial viability as a business enterprise The hospital is committed to the development of an integrated healthcare delivery network for its customersincluding medical staff businesses industry patients and general consumers

To patients our goal is to provide facilities and programs designed to meet a broad range of their healthcare needs in a costeffective manner and to involve them in the management of their health

To employees our goal is to provide an environment in which they can work with dignity and progress according to their ability and initiative To assist them in improving both our services and their individual excellence we provide professional development and education programs

To physicians our goal is to provide resources facilities and innovative programs required to meet the needs of their patients in both preventing illness and restoring health

To each community we serve our goal is to provide responsive costeffective and quality healthcare services to participate in community activities as a responsible corporate citizen and to regularly assess community needs and develop plans to meet those needs

Vision Statement
Garden Park Medical Center will be the hospital of choice for patients physicians and employees The medical center will be recognized as the premier hospital on the Mississippi Gulf Coast by cultivating a culture of compassionate high quality care with exceptional customer service

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History

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History of Garden Park
Thirtyfive years ago on October 17 1973 the first patient was admitted to the hospital by Dr Jare Barkley an internal medicinegeneral surgery practitioner Earlier that month the Mississippi Commission on Hospital Care issued a permit authorizing Garden Park Community Hospital to open for business The hospitaldeveloped and owned by a group of local investorstook three years to plan finance and construct Originally the facility was designed as a nursing home but during construction the investors decided to open it as a 120bed hospital

The 35 million 65000 squarefoot facility was described by the Daily Herald as an ultramodern structurearranged in wings extending to the surgical suites nurses stations visitor gazebos and a central focal point of an indoor restaurant set amid waterfall and tropical surroundings When the hospital opened the restaurant services included waitresses and the hospital also had a beauty salon on site The nursing units featured four wings called Camellia Magnolia Azalea and Rose The original entrance was located at 45th Avenue The total equipment cost for the new building was nearly 1 million according to an article in the Daily Herald and included 150000 worth of xray equipment featuring televised pictures which the doctor can observe live

During that first year of service 40 physicians joined the medical staff and over 220 persons were employed by the hospital In 1978 a sixbed intensive care unit was added by converting existing rooms In 1979 Brookwood Health Services Inc purchased the facility and operated it until AMI acquired it in 1981 The new owners quickly acquired additional acreage next to the existing facility and began expansion plans Upon issuance of the Certificate of Need CON from the state the hospital began construction on an addition to the facility which would nearly double the size of the building and add emergency room services The addition was completed in 1985 with a new twostory section new equipment and a new entrance off Broad Avenue

The next several years brought many changes to Garden Park and to the healthcare industry as well In 1989 thirtysix AMI hospitals spun off to form an employeeowned company called Epic Healthcare Five years later in 1994 HealthTrust Inc bought all of the Epic holdings to form the second largest healthcare company in the country Less than a year later HealthTrust was purchased by ColumbiaHCA Healthcare Corp the largest healthcare company in the nation The company later dropped the name Columbia to become HCA Hospital Corporation of America

Over the past 35 years the Garden Park has grown to meet the everchanging needs of the community In 1996 the hospital successfully obtained a CON to build a replacement facility on Community Road in the Orange Grove area Detailed research indicated that the new location was the epicenter of growth for the community and construction on the new facility began in 1998 Less than two years later Garden Park Medical Center opened on May 23 2000 with a modern stateoftheart facility that was twice the size of its previous building

Since that time Garden Park has continued to expand its services The hospital is now focused on becoming the provider and employer of choice based on providing exceptional customer service and hiring employees who share the same values and believe in the hospitals culture With a solid core of services a talented team of individuals focused on a culture of compassion and care and a clear vision for the future there is no doubt that Garden Parks next 35 years will be very bright