Smith Northview Hospital

Description

Mission Statement
Our mission is to improve the health of those we serve through a caring and competent staff while maintaining the continued viability of the facility

We are dedicated to providing optimal quality health care to those we serve

History

The History of Smith Hospital
The idea for Smith Hospital was born in 1942 Doctors EJ and Raymond Smith a father and son team served Hahira and the surrounding community from their small office in Hahira While delivering a baby on a rainy night in a rural area of the county in a small home with poor lighting Dr Raymond Smith said There has to be something better than this

The father and son bought 2 houses on Main Street and connected them to start the first hospital in Hahira Georgia As the need grew so did the hospital until it sprawled over most of the block At one time part of the hospital became a Nursing Home and then converted back to a hospital The part that was a Nursing Home became doctors offices for a changing series of doctors The middle part of the hospital became a contained locked unit for a Drug and Alcohol Detoxification Unit

In 1986 Smith Hospital was sold to Dr Russell Acree and family Over the next 14 years the hospital was patched and fixed up until the Acree family sold the hospital to a community health group from Tennessee This organization only kept the hospital for a few months before it converted back to the Acree family They continued to look for a buyer

Sam Lewis owner of Ameris Healthcare Systems came to look at the hospital and saw potential not in its current rundown building but as a new facility Robert Bauer was moved from Tennessee as Special Projects Manager Then began a twoyear campaign by Robert and Sam to acquire a Certificate of Need to build a new facility Ground breaking took place in August of 2001 and Smith Northview Hospital opened its doors June 24 2002 Actually business began a little earlier when someone fell and broke a hip at the Open House on Sunday June 23rd All needed parties were present including an Orthopedic Surgeon and nursing staff so the first admission took place a few hours earlier than intended

Smith Hospital in Hahira had 71 beds 1 Operating Room 1 Delivery Room and approximately 6 full time physicians Smith Northview Hospital opened 7 miles down the road with 29 beds including 2 LaborDeliveryRecovery Rooms 8 outpatient surgical rooms 2 Operating Rooms and approximately 100 physicians The number of employees doubled with the move from approximately 140 to over 300 in order to accommodate the increase in patients doctors and surgeries