MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, formerly known as Montgomery General Hospital, is a large hospital in
Olney, Maryland. The hospital is a member of
MedStar Health.
History
In 1909,
Dr. Jacob Wheeler Bird
Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...
arrived in Sandy Spring to begin a medical practice and set out to establish the only hospital in Montgomery County. In 1919, eight women, who met to roll bandages and sew for community organizations, turned their energies toward raising funds for the new hospital.
Founded by Dr. Bird, the hospital opened in February 1920. Still unfinished, Montgomery General Hospital admitted its first 5 patients during a blizzard and the
Spanish flu epidemic
The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...
. The original hospital had 28 beds and admitted 596 patients its first year.
References
External links
Official websiteACHS Summary Form- Maryland State Archives
Hospitals in Maryland
Olney, Maryland
{{Maryland-hospital-stub