1970 - New Liberty Hospital District formed. In May, $2 million bond issue approved for hospital construction. Newly named Liberty Hospital District Directors are: Russell Stocksdale, president; Robert DeMasters, vice president; Bill Adams, clerk; Bruce Heavner, attorney for the board; Charles Gillespie; Dr. H.I. Hester; Vincent Rigby; and Robert Lincoln.
1972 - Ground broken Dec. 9th on 30-acre site for new hospital.
1974 - 101,000 square foot, 130-bed Liberty Hospital opens at a cost of $6 million -- three months ahead of schedule. A crowd estimated at 3,000 attends dedication and open house on Feb. 3. Sen. Stuart Symington presides over the ceremony. The first patient is accepted Feb. 17. During that first week, 96 patients are admitted. Hospital opens with 47 beds in operation and 83 in reserve. The hospital has 175 employees and 39 physicians.
1978 - 14,547 square feet of space added with construction completed in June. Cost: $732,843. The new addition is utilized for surgery, physical therapy, respiratory therapy, radiology, laboratories, business office and storage.
1982 - New Breast Diagnostic Center opens -- one of the first self-referral centers of its kind in the country and one of only few in the area accredited by American College of Radiology.
1984 - New east wing opens at a cost of $10.4 million. The 109,000 square foot addition virtually doubles the size of the hospital. Included are new Surgical and Medical Intensive Care Units, and seven-bed PCU unit; Outpatient Surgical Suite and expanded waiting area; and preoperative holding room.
1986 - New Education Center opens at a cost of $498,623. The Center contains five meeting rooms and auditorium with seating for more than 100.
1987 - New 12-room Emergency Department with ambulance garage completed at a cost of approximately $1.6 million.
1989 - Obstetrical Unit opens at a cost of $486,904. The facility provides labor-delivery-recovery birthing suits, in-unit surgical suite, Level II nursery and well-baby nursery.
1990 - New Outpatient Special Procedures Unit opens at a cost of $976,286.
1994 - Emergency Department expansion completed. The addition includes new three-room triage area, expanded reception area, new ENT room, and new Radiology trauma room. Construction completed on new, covered front entrance area. Hospital opens Cardiac Cath Lab.
1996 - Angiography suite opened in February for expanded cardiac caths and other vascular procedures. One mile Walking Trail paved and open to public.
1997 - Outpatient Special Procedures, Central Supply, and the Surgery Department are modernized—including the recovery area and the addition of one surgical suite. The overall project involves 22,302 square feet of new construction and 20,898 square feet of renovated space at a total project cost of approximately $7.2 million.
In December, groundbreaking is held for the new $8 million Doctor’s Office Building and 4-story parking garage.
1998 - Installation of the new state-of-the art MRI unit is completed in June.
1999 - Feb. 17, the hospital celebrates 25 year anniversary. Doctors Building opens in June. The 80,000 square foot, four-story building houses more than 100 physicians, as well as some hospital services.
2000 - Health Resource Library opens in March.
2001 - New, dedicated Cardiac Cath Lab with dedicated admitting, preparation and recovery area is completed. The new 20 bed Intensive Care Unit and the renovation and expansion of the Emergency Department is also completed at a cost of $12.5 million.
2002 - Construction begins on a three-story expansion of the South patient tower with approximately 43,875 additional square feet.
2004 - The hospital celebrates its 30-year anniversary. The South Tower opens in March with a 19-bed telemetry unit with all private rooms. Construction begins in the fall on the Medical Plaza East building, which features a four-story, 84,000-square-foot building with a 525 space attached parking garage. Estimated cost is $25 million.
2005 - The TreeHouse welcomes its first guests, nine residents, the first night of service. The Medical Plaza East building and relocation of obstetrics as the Birthing Center is completed. The new Birthing Center features state-of-the-art amenities and occupies approximately 21,000 square feet on the fourth floor of the Medical Plaza East Building. The Birthing Center increases the total number of beds available from 19 to 24, all of them private rooms, with the addition of a second C-section room.
Also in the Medical Plaza East building is doctor’s offices, including the relocation of the Therapeutic Radiologists and on-site radiation oncology.
2007 - Construction begins on two additional floors to the South Tower. The expansion will add 40 additional beds to the hospital. Two west is remodeled and opens with 10 new rooms, increasing the hospital's number of licensed beds to 245. The new, state-of-the-art Pain Management Center opens, located in the Medical Plaza East building.
2008 - In December, Liberty Hospital completed a $13 million dollar expansion. The 30,000-square-foot expansion includes a sixth and seventh floor on the hospital's south tower. The hospital has also added additional licensed beds to the facility, bringing the new total to 250.
2009 - Construction begins on the Liberty Regional Heart & Vascular Center. Once construction is complete, the hospital will have two open-heart surgery suites as well as an additional cardiac catheterization laboratory.
The hospital purchases three physician practices, The Liberty Clinic, Liberty Cardiovascular Specialists, Liberty Cardiothoracic Surgeons. On November 17, 2009, Michael Gorton, MD, performed the hospital's first open-heart surgery.
2010 - In October, the hospital purchased 20 acres of land from Hallmark Cards. Part of the land, located on the northeast side of TreeHouse will be used for the relocation of The Liberty Clinic in 2012.
In November, Liberty Hospital brings innovative therapies to our patients and the community by initiating its first clinical trial. The hospital also celebrates its 100th open-heart surgery!
In December, Liberty Hospital completed construction on the Liberty Cancer Center. The new center, located on the ground floor of Medical Plaza East, is nearly double in size and has 10 private infusion bays, three exam rooms, two treatment rooms and a large wating area.
2011 - In January, the hospital opened its Heart & Vascular Center, a $15.1 million expansion that features 42,000 square- feet of space and includes two additional open-heart surgery suites, one additional cath lab, new receiving docks, extra storage and additional space for future growth.
In April, Joseph Crossett, Liberty Hospital administrator, retired after 35 years of services to the organization. David Feess, assistant administrator of operations, is named interim administrator by the Liberty Hospital Board of Trustees.
In July, the hospital breaks ground on the new Liberty Clinic. The new clinic will be located on the northeast side of TreeHouse, and will offer 25,000 square feet of space, 39 exam rooms, a large lab and a diagnostic area.
In August, David Feess is named president and CEO of Liberty Hospital by the board of trustees.
In September, the hospital upgrades its da Vinci robotic surgery system. The hospital already performs hundreds of urology and gynecology procedures with the robot and with the new system will be able to expand into even more surgical areas in the future, including general surgery, cardiology and otolaryngology.
In November, the Liberty Hospital Wound Clinic moved to 550 Rush Creek Parkway, Suite B, in Liberty. The new clinic is more than three times the size of the previous location and offers nine private exam rooms and three procedure rooms. |
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