60 Years of Caring

Memorial Health Meadows Hospital celebrates a milestone

This year, Memorial Health Meadows Hospital will celebrate its 60th anniversary of serving the people of Toombs County and the region. On September 16, 1963, the Dr. John M. Meadows Memorial Hospital treated its first patient. The 51-bed hospital was named in honor of the area’s first physician, whose son donated 22 acres of land to build the new medical facility.

Today, Meadows Hospital is part of HCA Healthcare, one of the nation’s leading providers of healthcare services with 182 hospitals and more than 2,300+ sites of care in 20 states and the United Kingdom. “Meadows Hospital has a rich history of providing highquality healthcare for patients in our region,” said Matt Hasbrouck, CEO. “We look forward to building on that tradition.”

Looking back over the years, Meadows Hospital brought many new medical services and technologies to the region. These included:

• An 8-bed intensive care unit (1969)

• A behavioral health center to provide mental health care and substance abuse treatments (1978)

• The hospital’s first MRI performed using a mobile unit (1992)

• The hospital’s first CT scanner and a new sleep lab (2000)

• A cardiac catheterization lab (2001)

• Chemotherapy for adult cancer patients (2005)

Leading-edge treatments and technologies established Meadows Hospital as a major player in the regional healthcare community. And, as their impressive growth continued, hospital leaders recognized the need for a larger facility. In 2009, they broke ground on a new hospital and the new Meadows Regional Medical Center opened in February 2011. The $100 million facility was much larger in size than the original hospital and boasted 20 emergency rooms and six operating suites.

In 2012, medical oncology moved to the new hospital and a new radiation oncology service was added soon after. In 2017, the new 15,000 square foot Tommy & Shirley Strickland Cancer Center opened, consolidating cancer services in the same building on the Meadows Hospital campus.

While Meadows enjoyed success, many rural hospitals were struggling financially. To secure the hospital’s future, the Board and Hospital Authority began seeking a strategic partner in 2018. HCA Healthcare expressed interest in having Meadows join its growing network in southern Georgia. The Board chose HCA Healthcare for its commitment to high-quality, community-based hospitals and its focus on serving patients and giving back to the communities it serves. Meadows joined HCA’s South Atlantic Division in May 2021. The hospital was renamed Memorial Health Meadows Hospital, keeping the proud Meadows name while also aligning it with Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah to reflect HCA’s presence in the region. In July, Matt Hasbrouck joined Meadows Hospital as CEO, following a successful stint as COO at Memorial Health in Savannah.

Meadows Hospital began to see changes and improvements immediately as part of the HCA Healthcare family. More than $12 million was invested in various equipment, infrastructure, and programs to provide the very best care to our patients. Hospital colleagues continued to persevere through the most acute pandemic in our lifetime, caring like family and never backing down. Key services were added or expanded including:

• A new robotic surgery program that performed more than 300 surgeries in its first year

• New surgical specialties including hand surgery, reconstructive plastic surgery, and neurosurgery

• Electrophysiology for patients who have issues with their heart’s electrical system (such as atrial fibrillation, abnormal heartbeats or arrhythmia).

“I am very proud of the hard work our team has done to implement new processes and systems. We’ve added new equipment, programs and services, all while remaining focused on providing excellent care for our patients and their families,” said Hasbrouck.”

Meadows Hospital was also honored for quality care, earning a 5-star rating in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 2022 Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings. The hospital was also nationally recognized for its maternity center.

And, it has infused over $4.8 million in taxes, as well as, $100,000 in various local charitable partnerships across our community, demonstrating Meadows Hospital’s commitment to our community.

As Meadows Hospital marks this 60th anniversary milestone, it is also looking ahead to a bright future. “Our goal is to bring exceptional healthcare closer to home for patients in our region,” said Hasbrouck.