Ocean City Today
30A NEWS
MAY 10, 2013
Hospital marks 20 years in biz. Atlantic General opened on May 21, 1993, six weeks ahead of schedule STEWART DOBSON â– Editor SHEILA R. CHERRY â– Associate Editor/Bayside Gazette
PHOTO COURTESY ATLANTIC GENERAL HOSPITAL
Dignitaries, donors, propronents and officials take a ceremonial turn at the shovels at Atlantic General Hospital’s groundbreaking in 1991. The hospital was completed in 1993, six weeks ahead of schedule and for less than was budgeted. The $27 million project grew into an enterprise with an annual payroll of more than $30 million.
Play Ocean City’s Only
Gary Player Signature Course 18 Holes Designed by a Legend - Minutes from Ocean City
F or Reserva Res tions Call For Reservations
Golf Specials!
410-641-7 7200 410-641-7200
Play Before Noon at Regular Price
Twilight Special
Become a Member for a Week 'SFF (SFFO 'FFT "MM 8FFL -POH
Twilight Rate after 3PM 18 Holes with Cart for Only $40
Twoferr TTuesdays uesdays
After 12, Try our $49 Hot Dog!
Play any Tuesday ue & Two Play for the Regular Regu egular Price of One*
Includes 18 Hole Green fee, Cart & One of our Famous Hebrew Naational Dogs & Soda*
Senior Sundays
4pm – Play 9 Then Dine for $39!
Ovver 55? Play any Sunday for 20% OFF the Regular Price*
Includes 9 Hole Green Fee, Cart & Dinner Entree & Non-Alcoholic n-Alcoholic Bevverage* erage*
*Not valid with any other special or promotion. May not be combined. Offer expires Labor Day 2013.
River Run Golf Club & Community .BTUFST -BOF t #FSMJO .BSZMBOE t XXX 3JWFS3VO(PMG DPN
(May 10, 2013) Twenty years ago on May 21, the long and tortuous path to establish a community hospital in Worcester County came to fruition. The opening of Atlantic General Hospital on that Friday saw long-time proponents, political figures, volunteers and business people gather to witness the culmination of years of politicking, planning, fundraising and, eventually, building the area’s first acute care facility. It was a triumphant moment made possible by an exceptionally determined group of citizens, especially considering that the effort to give the county its own hospital dates back to 1945. That was when more than 60 members and guests of the Lions Club attended a dinner meeting at the Atlantic Hotel to announce $105,025 in pledges to the War Memorial Worcester County Hospital campaign. But that and subsequent attempts to build a hospital failed for a variety of reasons until early in the 1990s, when the Worcester County Commissioners created a citizens group to pursue this goal once again. Members of this assembly came from every area of the coastal community: lawyers, doctors, business people, volunteers, builders, Realtors, retirees, nurses, restaurateurs, teachers and politicians. The difference then was that all the elements necessary to make Atlantic General Hospital happen came together at the right moment — the dedication of the citizens group, the support of local governments, the generosity of the public and the intervention of a powerful ally at the state level, then Gov. William Donald Schaefer. Altogether, the public donated some $4 million to the cause, while governments contributed $12.5 million. AGH volunteers, with the help of friends from across the state, also hacked their way through a jungle of regulations in order to receive permission to build. From blurry concept to blueprints to a fully functioning facility, AGH has continued to grow over the past two decades, not just in the numbers of people served or the size of its staff, but technologically as well. The hospital, which serves more than 117,000 patients per year from Selbyville, Del. to Pocomoke, has made electronic medical records integration one of its strategic initiatives and improving the quality of its services a core principle. See ATLANTIC on Page 31A