Greene County General Hospital was one of 21 Indiana businesses to be presented with the Centennial Business Award by the Indiana Historical Society (IHS), in partnership with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC).
Greene County General Hospital representatives Randy Padgett and Corey Sparks accepted the award on behalf of the hospital on Monday evening at the IHS’s 2012 Founders Day Dinner.
“It is great to be a part of an organization that has been providing healthcare and jobs and serving the community for 100 years,” said Greene County General Hospital Interim Chief Executive Officer/Chief Financial Officer Tim Norris.
Greene County General Hospital – originally Freeman City Hospital was located on the corner of 4th and Northeast A streets. It was established in June 1912. The county’s first hospital was formed when Mr. and Mrs. Job Freeman donated their two-story, Neo-Jacobean style home to the City of Linton to be used as a city hospital.
On Feb. 7, 1928, the Linton City Council adopted an ordinance, with the corresponding action by the Greene County Board of Commissioners, which provided for the transfer of the Freeman City Hospital to Greene County for the establishment of Freeman-Greene County Hospital. In 1929, it began operating as Freeman-Greene County Hospital.
The original hospital contained 22 beds. Employees included two nurses, a cook, and a part-time janitor.
The size and quality of the hospital helped make Linton the center of the coal mining boom in the early 1900s. It also helped make Linton a steadily developing community.
From 1912 to 1974, more than 14,000 babies were born at the old hospital. This number is substantial, especially when taking into consideration many births took place at home during the hospital’s early years of operation. The life of every person in the area was involved in the old hospital in some way – whether it was through birth, illness, death.
The hospital’s first major expansion was in 1936 when an annex was completed. The annex included kitchen/cafeteria facilities, heating plant, and 32 beds.
The second expansion project was completed in 1954. This project included the addition of a surgical suite, delivery suite, X-ray department, clinical laboratory, emergency department, and 16 beds.
Construction on the new hospital was started Dec. 10, 1970. Greene County General Hospital opened its doors in April 1974. It is located at 1185 N 1000 W – which is more commonly known as Lone Tree Road.
The old hospital was torn down on September 25, 1985, and a newly-built Wendy’s restaurant opened at that location on March 10, 1986.
The new Greene County General Hospital included an intensive care unit for coronary and post-surgical patients as well as enlarged x-ray, laboratory, and therapy facilities.
In 1997, Greene County General Hospital’s Ambulatory Infusion Center was opened. The infusion center – which offers patients a variety of infusion therapy options – is located across from the hospital in the Lone Tree Medical Center.
In 1999, the obstetric department was completely renovated offering new labor and delivery rooms as well as new recovery rooms.
In 2003, Greene County General Hospital obtained a critical access hospital status, which limits the number of inpatient beds to 25.
In February 2012, the hospital announced plans for a $7.5 million expansion/renovation which will add approximately 8,500 square feet of space to the facility. The project will primarily expand the emergency department; however, the main entrance, lab, radiology, pharmacy, and physical therapy will also be expanded and/or renovated.
The hospital broke ground for the expansion/renovation project in October.
Construction of Phase I, which includes the new emergency department addition as well as the new main entrance and physical therapy renovation, is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2013.
Construction of Phase II, which includes renovation of the mammography area, radiology area, ultrasound room, and imaging department, is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2014.
Greene County General Hospital was one of 21 businesses to receive the Centennial Business Award. Other businesses receiving the award were (listed with hometown, along with founding year if other than 1912):
- Bailey-Love Mortuary, Huntington (1910)
- Deister Machine Company, Inc., Fort Wayne
- Distributors Terminal, Terre Haute (1868)
- Duke Energy, Indianapolis
- First Federal Savings Bank, Huntington
- First Federal Savings Bank of Washington, Washington (1895)
- Glancy Funeral Home, Montpelier
- Greene County General Hospital, Linton
- Hart Shoes, Kokomo
- Haynes International, Inc., Kokomo
- Ira Clark Detective Agency, Evansville
- Jackson County Title Abstract Company Inc., Brownstown (1911)
- J.C. Allen & Son, West Lafayette
- LDI, Ltd., Indianapolis
- MIBOR, Indianapolis
- Olympia Candy Kitchen, Goshen
- Our Community Bank, Spencer (1911)
- Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington
- Stillenger Funeral Family Home, Greenfield
- The Church Federation of Greater Indianapolis, Indianapolis
- Young’s Café, Huntington (1911)
In 1992, the trustees and members of the Indiana Historical Society founded the Historic Business Register with three goals in mind: to provide special recognition to Indiana companies continually in business for a century or more, to encourage the preservation of historically significant business-related archival materials, and to develop increased awareness of our rich business and industrial heritage among Indiana’s citizens.
The Centennial Business Awards are presented every year in partnership with the IEDC. To date, the names of more than 300 companies have been registered and listed on the IHS website, most with organizational narratives. Web viewers can use the alphabetical index to browse the register or use the site search to find particular businesses.
About the Indiana Historical Society
Since 1830, the Indiana Historical Society has been Indiana’s Storyteller, connecting people to the past by collecting, preserving, interpreting and sharing the state’s history. A private, nonprofit membership organization, IHS maintains the nation’s premier research library and archives on the history of Indiana and the Old Northwest and presents a unique set of visitor exhibitions called the Indiana Experience. IHS also provides support and assistance to local museums and historical groups, publishes books and periodicals; sponsors teacher workshops; and provides youth, adult and family programming. The Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, home of the IHS and the Indiana Experience, is located at 450 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis.