Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus, formerly Kimball Medical Center and before that, Paul Kimball Hospital, is a hospital located in
Lakewood, New Jersey
Lakewood Township is the most populous township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A rapidly growing community as of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 135,158 representing an increase of 41,415 (+45.5% ...
, United States, that serves parts of northern
Ocean County
Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.Monmouth County. The hospital is affiliated with
Barnabas Health
RWJBarnabas Health is a network of independent healthcare providers in New Jersey, based out of West Orange. Members include academic centers, acute care facilities, and research hospitals. The goals of the network include collaboration on edu ...
. Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus also operates two satellite facilities: a psychiatric hospital known as Barnabas Health Behavioral Health Center, formerly Kimball Behavioral Health, (with 100 inpatient beds) in Toms River, NJ and The Center for Healthy Living in Lakewood.
History
In the early 1900s, a group formed to raise funds for the first hospital in
Ocean County
Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.Lakewood. Its first major expansion, in 1923, added 40 beds, a new kitchen, dining room, and operating suite.
Victims from the 1930s catastrophes of the
Hindenburg Disaster
The ''Hindenburg'' disaster was an airship accident that occurred on May 6, 1937, in Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States. The German passenger airship LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'' caught fire and was destroyed during its attemp ...
and the SS Morro Castle were rescued and treated by staff from Paul Kimball Hospital. The 1940s saw the addition of a contagious disease unit, and the 1950s saw another major expansion to 148 beds. By the 1960s, the hospital had new radiology, laboratory, emergency, and outpatient departments, as well as the addition of air conditioning.
1971 saw yet another expansion to 235 beds, as well as the addition of the Intensive Care Unit and the Coronary Care Unit. The next major phase, in 1984, increased beds to 354, and the hospital was
renamed Kimball Medical Center to reflect the scope of services. In the 1990s, the once-tiny hospital was transformed to be a major medical center within
Barnabas Health
RWJBarnabas Health is a network of independent healthcare providers in New Jersey, based out of West Orange. Members include academic centers, acute care facilities, and research hospitals. The goals of the network include collaboration on edu ...
. By 2007, Kimball was treating over 55,000 emergency patients per year.
In 2014,
Barnabas Health
RWJBarnabas Health is a network of independent healthcare providers in New Jersey, based out of West Orange. Members include academic centers, acute care facilities, and research hospitals. The goals of the network include collaboration on edu ...
announced it was merging Kimball Medical Center with
Monmouth Medical Center
Monmouth Medical Center, in Long Branch, Monmouth County, New Jersey, is one of New Jersey's largest community academic medical centers and is an academic affiliate of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School of Rutgers University, and is a part of ...
in
Long Branch, New Jersey
Long Branch is a beachside City (New Jersey), city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 30,719,< ...
, and removed the Kimball name, making it Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus. Kimball Medical Center to Merge With Monmouth Medical, Rosetta Key, 92.7 WOBM,January 10, 2014, accessed April 24, 2021.