The Huntsville Hospital Health System, also known as Huntsville Hospital, is a public, not-for-profit
hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
organization
An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose.
The word is derived from ...
consisting of several sites and buildings originating in the downtown area of
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in t ...
. The Huntsville Hospital Health System has evolved and now owns or works with several other hospitals in Alabama. It has around 13,000 employees, 2,000 nurses and 650 physicians.
![2 Huntsville Hospital](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/2_Huntsville_Hospital.JPG)
The hospital has no official ties to any college or university. It is only used for clinical rotations by students from the UAB School of Medicine, their family practice residency program, and local nursing and pharmacy students.
History
1895 –
A small infirmary is opened on Mill Street. The Infirmary was the result of the United Charities of Huntsville, a group dedicated to helping the sick and needy. The rent was $12.50 per month.
1904 –
The Infirmary moves to a new location. The house had previously been owned by Mollie Teal who left the home to the city. 112 patients were treated in the Infirmary during the year.
1916 –
The city appeals to the State Health Department for help after typhoid fever devastates the community. Dr. Carl Grote Sr., later to become known as the patriarch of Huntsville Hospital, answers the call.
1918 –
An outbreak of Spanish Flu ravishes Huntsville. Almost 400 people died of the disease in less than four months. Dedication to their jobs became deadly when only four doctors in Madison County escaped the disease.
1925 –
A campaign is begun by Dr. Carl Grote, Sr., to raise funds for a new hospital. In an outpouring of public sentiment, most of the money was raised by private donations. Property was donated by Harry Rhett, Sr.
1926 –
A modern hospital, the first of its kind in the Tennessee Valley, is built. The name is officially changed from the Huntsville Infirmary to Huntsville Hospital. The first baby was delivered at Huntsville Hospital on June 11, 1926.
1932 –
The Depression strikes home when the hospital is faced with the prospect of having to close its doors.
1943 –
President Roosevelt approved $45,850 in federal funds to expand the hospital to 76 beds. The project also included the first emergency room and an X-ray department.
1955–57 –
Expansion added new patient wings to the north and south ends of the 1926 building. An oxygen supply system was installed and the entire facility was made more fireproof.
1961 –
Huntsville Hospital was deeded over to the City of Huntsville in order to sell construction bonds to finance badly needed expansion.
1963 –
Construction provided four floors of nursing units, bringing bed capacity to 320320.
1964 –
Hospital Auxiliary volunteers, known as "Pink Ladies", begin their service.
1967 –
The state's first, on-site employee child care center opens at Huntsville Hospital.
1973 –
Huntsville Hospital is selected as the teaching facility for UAH's School of Primary Medical Care. In addition, North Alabama's only Neonatal Nursery opens at Huntsville Hospital.
1979 –
Construction of North Tower brings bed capacity to 578.
1981 –
The region's first open heart surgery is performed at Huntsville Hospital by Dr. Stancil Riley.
1982 –
Huntsville Hospital reincorporated under the State Health Care Authority Act.
1985 –
MedFlight service is established at the hospital.
1994 –
Huntsville Hospital purchases Medical Center Hospital (
Humana
Humana Inc. is a for-profit American health insurance company based in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2021, the company ranked 41 on the Fortune 500 list, which made it the highest ranked (by revenues) company based in Kentucky. It has been the thir ...
) from
Columbia becoming Huntsville Hospital East.
1995 –
Huntsville Hospital celebrates its 100th anniversary.
![Huntsville Hospital Tram System](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Huntsville_Hospital_Tram_System.jpg)
2002 –
Huntsville Hospital East becomes Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children. Huntsville Hospital completes construction of a two car overhead tram system connecting the main facilities on campus.
2005 –
Construction begins on a new 84 bed patient room tower and an expanded Emergency Department.
2007 –
Huntsville Hospital signs an affiliation contract with Athens-Limestone Hospital.
2009 –
Huntsville Hospital is selected to build a hospital in nearby
Madison, Alabama
Madison is a city located primarily in Madison County, near the northern border of the U.S. state of Alabama. Madison extends west into neighboring Limestone County. The city is included in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area, the second-largest ...
, the first new hospital in the state in 20 years; in addition, Huntsville Hospital acquires the Heart Center, P.C.
2012 –
Huntsville Hospital enters into a 40-year lease partnership with Decatur General Hospital. Under the agreement, Huntsville Hospital-owned Parkway Medical Center in Decatur, Ala., and Decatur General will operate as one consolidated hospital under the name Decatur Morgan Hospital.
Madison Hospital opens in Madison, Alabama.
2014 –
Huntsville Hospital enters into a 40-year lease partnership with Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield, Colbert County, Alabama.
2018 –
Huntsville Hospital enters affiliation contract with Marshall Medical Centers in Marshal County, Alabama, and Lincoln Health System in Lincoln County, Tennessee.
2019 –
Construction begins on a 24-room OR and 72-inpatient bed tower.
Facilities
![Medical District of Huntsville, Alabama](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Medical_District_of_Huntsville%2C_Alabama.jpg)
The Huntsville Hospital System is contained within a number of buildings in the Medical District; a tram connects the Huntsville Hospital Main, Franklin Medical Tower and Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children.
*Huntsville Hospital Main – the main facility
*Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children
*
Huntsville Hospital Tram System
The Huntsville Hospital Tram System is an automated people mover system located as part of the Huntsville Hospital System complex in Huntsville, Alabama, United States. Operating on a concrete guideway, the trams serve to connect the Huntsville ...
*Madison Street Tower – 84 private rooms for treatment of oncology, neuro-surgical, cardiology, and orthopedic surgery patients.
*Franklin Medical Tower- currently home to The Orthopedic Center, a private clinic of 27 doctors which includes specialties in all major body parts, pediatric, trauma, spine and sports medicine.
*Medical Mall – an outpatient facility located just west of the medical district.
*Madison Medical Park – a medical campus which includes physician offices, a "wellness center", and Madison Hospital.
*Blount Hospitality House – provides lodging for out-of-town relatives of patients in Huntsville area hospitals.
*Governors Medical Tower – this facility was designed to provide for patients undergoing same-day general surgeries.
*The Heart Center – offers prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the heart and blood vessels; also has offices in Decatur, Sheffield and Boaz
Affiliate Hospitals
Huntsville Hospital Health Systems is in various forms of partnerships with the following hospitals around the state of Alabama:
* Athens-Limestone Hospital- Hospital in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Limestone County,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
* Decatur Morgan Hospital- Hospital in
Decatur,
Morgan County,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
* Lawrence Medical Center- Hospital in
Moulton
Moulton may refer to:
Places in the United Kingdom
;In England
*Moulton, Cheshire
*Moulton, Lincolnshire
**Moulton Windmill
* Moulton St Mary, Norfolk
*Moulton, Northamptonshire
**Moulton College, agricultural college
**Moulton Park, industria ...
,
Lawrence County,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
* Helen Keller Hospital- Hospital in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
,
Colbert County
Colbert County () is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census the county's population was 57,227. The county seat is Tuscumbia. The largest city is Muscle Shoals.
The county is named i ...
,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
* Marshall Medical Centers- Hospital in
Marshall County,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
* Lincoln Medical Center- Hospital in
Fayetteville,
Lincoln County,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
* Red Bay Hospital- Hospital in
Red Bay,
Franklin County,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
References
History– Huntsville Hospital System
{{authority control
Hospitals in Alabama
Organizations based in Huntsville, Alabama
1895 establishments in Alabama