Baptist Health

Infobox Hospital
Name = Baptist Hospitals
Org/Group = Baptist Health


Region = Jacksonville
State = Florida
Country = US
HealthCare = Medicare/Medicaid/Public
Type = Community
Emergency = Level II Trauma Center
Affiliation = University of Florida
Specialty = Cardiology, Cancer, Women's Services
Beds = 1,000
Founded = 1940's
Website = http://community.e-baptisthealth.com|

Baptist Health, based in Jacksonville, Florida, is a network of five hospitals, affiliated with 34 primary care offices located throughout Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. All Baptist Hospitals have the "MAGNET designation", the highest honor a health care organization can receive for excellence in patient care.

History

For more than 60 years, Baptist Health has provided residents of Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia with care. The original "Baptist Memorial Hospital" in downtown Jacksonville was opened in the 1940’s, and is the flagship hospital for Baptist Health.

Hospitals

Baptist Downtown

In the early 1990s the hospital's name was changed to "Baptist Medical Center Downtown". The facility is a tertiary referral hospital in downtown Jacksonville on the south bank of the St. Johns River next to Interstate 95. Baptist Downtown provides services in cardiology, oncology (including gynecological), women's health (including obstetrics, gynecology and a Women's Resource Center), orthopedics, pediatrics, ophthalmology, emergency care (including Life Flights air ambulance, a children's emergency center and hyperbaric medicine), intensive care medicine, bloodless surgery, pulmonary services (including an adult/pediatric sleep disorders lab), pastoral care, radiology, rehabilitation and psychiatry/psychology. They also have the following regional referral centers: "Jacksonville Orthopedic Institute" (located in the Reid Medical Building) and "Baptist Cancer Institute" (located in the Edna Williams Cancer Center).

Baptist Nassau

A full-service hospital opened in Fernandina in 1942. The hospital moved to its current location at Lime and South 18th Streets in the late 1970s. In 1994, it joined Baptist Health as Baptist Medical Center Nassau. The hospital converted to an electronic medical record system, one of a handful of community hospitals in the nation to do so.

Wolfson Children’s Hospital

Morris David Wolfson (father of Louis Wolfson), made a $500,000 donation in 1946 to create a children’s health care facility in Jacksonville. In September 1955, Wolfson Memorial Children's Hospital opened as a 50-bed children’s wing in Baptist Memorial Hospital. The center grew slowly, until the decision was made in 1971 to consolidate the services into a separate facility with the name, Wolfson Children’s Hospital (WCH). In 1987, WCH and Nemours Children's Clinic began an affiliation to better serve area children. The partnership can be seen in the Kids Walk, which crosses Interstate 95 and connects the two organizations. WCH is the main pediatric teaching facility for the University of Florida/Jacksonville Pediatric Residency Training Program. [ [http://www.wolfsonchildrens.org/about-us/heritage/index.html Wolfson Children’s Hospital website: Our Heritage] ]

Baptist Beaches

A $12 million, multi-story facility opened its doors in November 1988 as "First Coast Medical Center", a public (tax-supported) hospital in Jacksonville Beach. Baptist Health acquired the facility in 1994 and changed the name to Baptist Medical Center Beaches. The surgery and recovery room areas were expanded in 1995, followed by a second medical office building the following year, and an outpatient wing in 1997. That same year the Women's Pavilion opened, bringing maternity services back to the Beaches. A conference room and chapel were completed in 1998. In 2001, the emergency center's capacity was doubled and the diagnostic and rehabilitative center on Roberts Drive was acquired and renovated. Construction began on the East Pavilion in 2003. A fourth floor was added to the East Pavilion in 2006 and 24 more private rooms were completed on the third floor at the end of 2007. [ [http://community.e-baptisthealth.com/bmc/beaches/history.html Baptist Beaches: History] ]

Baptist South

To meet the expanding needs of southern Duval and St. Johns counties, Baptist South was constructed and opened in February, 2005. The 80,000 square foot adjoining medical office building provides added convenience for patients and physicians. In June 2007, Baptist began building a new $80 million eight-story patient care tower that houses 62 inpatient beds and an additional 10-bed, level II Newborn Intensive Care Unit. The new facility also includes new labor delivery recovery postpartum (LDRP) rooms attached to the original labor and delivery unit in the main hospital. The fourth and fifth floors are comprised of medical/surgical beds. Part of the new patient tower is shelled-in space that is available for future outpatient and surgical services growth. The building is expected to be complete in June 2009. [ [http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/032208/ner_260126020.shtml Florida Times-Union: Mar 20, 2008- Duval County hospital projects] ]

Foundation

Baptist Health Foundation, Inc. was established in 1985 to be the center for all of the fundraising activities that enable the Baptist Health hospitals to carry out their mission of serving patients of all ages, regardless of ability to pay. Uncompensated and charity care at Baptist accounted for more than $56 million in fiscal year 2006. The Foundation assists Baptist Health’s commitment to care by funding new technology, equipment and treatments. [ [http://community.e-baptisthealth.com/wtg/about/index.html Baptist Health: Foundation] ]

References

External links

* [http://community.e-baptisthealth.com/bmc/downtown/index.html Baptist Downtown]
* [http://community.e-baptisthealth.com/bmc/beaches/index.html Baptist Beaches]
* [http://community.e-baptisthealth.com/bmc/nassau/index.html Baptist Nassau]
* [http://community.e-baptisthealth.com/bmc/south/index.html Baptist South]
* [http://www.wolfsonchildrens.org Wolfson Children’s Hospital]