Our History
Forrest General Hospital System has delivered health care services to Hattiesburg and the South Mississippi area since 1952. Today's regional medical center has grown remarkably from 90 beds to a 512-bed facility.
Forrest General Hospital consists of a 400-bed acute care facility; Pine Grove, an 88-bed chemical dependency and psychiatric unit; Rehabilitation Services, a 20-bed rehabilitation unit; Lowery A. Woodall Outpatient Surgery Facility; and Forrest General Home Care & Hospice.
Forrest General admitted its first patient, Mrs. Fred Roberts of Purvis, on July 15, 1952. Mrs. Roberts gave birth to a daughter the following day. In 1952, the hospital staff comprised a total of 70 employees and 31 doctors. Today, more than 3,100 people are employed by the Forrest General system. The medical staff now comprises more than 300 physicians, the largest medical staff in Mississippi outside Jackson.
Since 1952, the most noticeable changes have been the result of the hospital's long-range expansion plan, completed in separate phases:
In the Beginning
The idea to build Forrest General Hospital began in 1946 when the Jaycees Public Health Committee presented a formal statement to the Hattiesburg Junior Chamber of Commerce on the need for a new hospital. A year later, Forrest County voters approved a $350,000 bond issue to construct a new hospital. The money was matched with federal and state funding to build the original 90-bed hospital at a cost of $1.1 million.
The hospital's bed capacity expanded to 100 in 1957 when 10 additional patient rooms were added to the building's fourth floor.
The Expansion Begins
In 1963, just one year after Lowery Woodall was named administrator, Forrest General discontinued accepting county tax money to operate. The hospital since has operated on a self-sustaining basis.
The following year, a new wing was constructed onto the hospital adding 60 new patient rooms. Bed capacity was increased to 160.
Forrest General became the first South Mississippi hospital to establish a cobalt unit in 1967. Today's cancer treatment facilities include a state-of-the-art linear accelerator and various other capabilities in the detection and treatment of cancer.
Phase I
Phase I of the hospital's long-range expansion plan was completed in 1968. The new addition included new X-ray facilities, emergency treatment rooms, classrooms, nursing offices, a medical library, a family room, inhalation facilities and physical therapy facilities.
The same year, the Forrest General established the region's first coronary care unit (CCU) for the treatment of heart patients.
In 1969, Forrest General became one of several Mississippi hospitals to receive helicopter service as part of the CARESOM program. The Southeast Mississippi Air Ambulance Service, which operates Rescue 7, later was formed to provide air transport to the area. Forrest General's Emergency Services Department remains the medical control facility for Rescue 7.
Phase II
Phase II was completed in 1970, adding a psychiatric unit, intensive care unit and 100 additional patient rooms. Phase II brought the hospital bed capacity to 260.
Dr. Stoney Williamson, a Hattiesburg ophthalmologist, performed the first transplant at Forrest General in 1970. A 31-year-old Jefferson Davis County woman received corneas from a New Orleans woman who was killed in an accident.
That same year, a pacemaker was implanted for the first time at Forrest General. The installation of pacemakers now is routine at the Cardiovascular Center of Excellence.
Phase III
Phase III, completed in 1972, added an additional 60 new patient rooms, bringing the bed capacity to 320 beds. In 1975, Forrest General continued to expand its heart care program, introducing remote cardiac monitoring.
Remote monitoring allows EKG signals to be transmitted over the telephone lines from other South Mississippi hospitals. The swan-ganz catheter, introduced in 1976, allowed temporary transvenous pacing of the heart.
The hospital's diagnostic capabilities expanded in 1977 with the installation of a permanent computerized tomography (CT scan) unit.
Phase IV
Phase IV was completed in 1977, adding 100 additional patient beds and several new hospital departments. The project brought the total bed capacity to 420.
With the completion of Phase IV, the hospital lobby faced U.S. Highway 49. Until then, the front of the hospital had faced 28th Avenue.
A year later, the cardiac catheterization laboratory was established for the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. Today a variety of procedures, including angioplasty, atherectomy, stenting and NOGA mapping are performed in the cardiac catheterization laboratory.
Phase V
Phase V consisted of the establishment of two major free-standing centers. Pine Grove, Forrest General's psychiatric and chemical dependency treatment facility, was established in 1984. That same year, the Lowery A. Woodall Outpatient Surgery Facility opened.
Also in 1985, a milestone in heart care was reached when Dr. David Stephens, a cardiovascular surgeon, performed the area's first heart bypass surgery on a Poplarville man. More than 5,700 bypass surgeries have been performed since then at Forrest General's Cardiovascular Center of Excellence.
Phase VI
Construction on Phase VI was completed in 1986, adding enlarged and renovated areas for surgery, radiology, labor and delivery, nursery and intensive care. The hospital's linear accelerator also was installed during this project.
Phase VI also included the installation of a permanent extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy unit. Lithotripsy crushes kidney stones without surgery.
In 1987, Women and Children Center of Excellence, Forrest General's labor and delivery unit, began operations. Currently, an average of 250 babies are born at Forrest General each month.
A permanent magnetic resonance imaging unit (MRI) was installed in 1988. MRI uses a massive magnet, radio waves and a computer to obtain images of the inner body.
Phase VII
In 1993, the hospital began construction on the largest expansion project in the history of Forrest General. Phase VII added five additional floors to the tower wing of the hospital. The project included new patient rooms and additional space to accommodate needed diagnostic and support facilities.
Phase VII was completed in 1995. The project added 165 patient rooms, restoring patient rooms that had been consumed in prior years by internal renovations.
History of Leadership
Reagan Long was named the hospital's first administrator. In 1953, W.C. Kingsberry succeeded Long as administrator. In 1962, the hospital's board of trustees named Lowery A. Woodall administrator (later named executive director).
In 1996, following the completion of the Phase VII project, Lowery Woodall retired as executive director and the board of trustees named William C. Oliver as executive director.
Continued Expansion
In 1990, Forrest General established the Pine Grove Life Focus Center at 1611 S. 28th Ave. The center provides outpatient counseling. Today, Pine Grove operates regional counseling centers in Hattiesburg, Laurel, Gulfport, Jackson and McComb.
In 1992, construction was completed on a new 24-bed adolescent psychiatric and chemical dependency wing at Pine Grove. Ten additional adult treatment beds also have been added to Pine Grove.
In 1996, construction was completed on a new multi-level parking garage. The new facility adds additional parking spaces for patients and visitors, while improving accessibility. Motorists may enter the building from the parking garage at the lower, middle and upper levels. New lobby areas also were designed to accommodate patients and visitors.
The organization began its implementation of EPICS (Electronic Patient Integrated Care System) in 1995. This system is designed to enhance delivery of care through improved information management from an electronic integrated patient record.
The Forrest General Cancer Center began operations at the corner of Arlington Loop and 28th Avenue in 1999. This facility is the cornerstone of Forrest General's cancer program, providing an integrated approach to cancer treatment through a comprehensive continuum of education, treatment and support services.
In 2000, expansion and remodeling of The Lowery A. Woodall Outpatient Surgery Facility added inviting space and amenities for patients and staff. The additional space helped resolve increasing demand for outpatient services.
The Renaissance, a 14-bed comprehensive residential eating disorder treatment facility for women 18 years and older, also opened on 2807 Arlington Loop. The regional facility offers gender-specific therapy to patients who are unresponsive to other therapies.
Today, Forrest General enjoys a reputation for quality health care services rivaling any health care system in the southeastern United States. It now is one of the most advanced and well-equipped medical centers in the region. In the years ahead, Forrest General will continue to expand with South Mississippi's changing health care needs.
