FGH Timeline
- 1946
- The Jaycees Public Health Committee formally proposed to the Junior Chamber of Commerce a need to establish a new hospital. The measure then was proposed to the Forrest County Board of Supervisors.
- 1947
- Forrest County citizens approved a $350,000 bond issue to purchase a 13-acre site to build Forrest County General Hospital.
- 1950
- Surveyors began constructing the original hospital building.
- 1952
- Forrest General opened as a 90-bed community hospital under the leadership of Administrator Reagan Long.
- 1953
- W.C. Kingsberry became the second administrator of Forrest General, succeeding Reagan Long.
- 1957
- Ten additional patient rooms were added, bringing total beds to 100.
- 1962
- Lowery A. Woodall was named administrator of Forrest General.
- An alteration and addition to B-wing was completed.
- 1963
- Forrest General began operating on a self-sustaining basis with no allocation of county tax money.
- 1964
- An addition of 60 new patient rooms brought Forrest General's total beds to 160.
- Air conditioning was installed throughout the hospital building.
- 1967
- Forrest General became South Mississippi's first hospital to establish a Cobalt Unit for the treatment of cancer patients.
- 1968
- Phase I of Forrest General's long-range expansion plan was completed, adding new diagnostic, treatment, support and office facilities.
- Forrest General established South Mississippi's first Coronary Care Unit (CCU).
- 1969
- Forrest General became one of several Mississippi hospitals to receive helicopter service as part of a state program. Helicopter service was sustained with the formation of the Southeast Mississippi Air Ambulance District.
- 1970
- Phase II of Forrest General's expansion plan was completed, adding a 20-bed Psychiatric Unit, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and 100 additional patient rooms. The bed capacity increased to 260.
- The first corneal transplant was performed at Forrest General.
- 1971
- The first pacemaker was implanted at Forrest General.
- 1972
- Phase III of Forrest General's expansion plan was completed, adding 60 new patient rooms. The bed capacity increased to 320.
- 1973
- # First Mississippi hospital to establish a camp for youth with diabetes
- 1975
- Forrest General established a remote monitoring system for cardiac patients hospitalized in other South Mississippi hospitals.
- 1976
- Swan-Ganz catheter was first used at Forrest General for temporary transvenous pacing of the heart.
- 1977
- Phase IV of Forrest General's expansion plan was completed, adding 100 additional beds and space for new departments and support areas. Bed capacity increased to 420.
- 1978
- Forrest General's Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory was opened.
- An addition was completed to the Physical Therapy area.
- The Heliport was constructed for use with Rescue 7 air ambulance.
- 1981
- The Respiratory Therapy area was expanded and relocated.
- 1984
- Phase V of Forrest General's expansion plan was completed to add Pine Grove, a psychiatric and chemical dependency treatment facility. The licensed bed capacity increased to 537.
- The Lowery A. Woodall Outpatient Surgery facility, located on South 28th Avenue, began operation.
- 1985
- The first open-heart surgery was performed at Forrest General.
- Forrest General began offering home health services through Home Care.
- A crosswalk was constructed to connect Forrest General with Hattiesburg Clinic.
- 1986
- Phase VI was completed, adding an enlarged and renovated area, as well as a linear accelerator for the treatment of cancer patients.
- Forrest General began offering lithotripsy to treat kidney stones without surgery.
- 1987
- Forrest General Hospital Rehabilitation Services, a 20-bed rehabilitation unit, opened.
- A 20,000 square-foot labor and delivery facility began operation.
- Forrest General opened The Carl R. Hale Radiation Therapy Center, a new and expanded facility for radiation treatments.
- 1987
- Cardiologists performed the first balloon angioplasty.
- 1988
- Forrest General installed a permanent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit.
- 1990
- The Pine Grove Life Focus Center opened to offer outpatient counseling.
- 1991
- The Pine Grove Counseling Center of Laurel opened.
- 1992
- Pine Grove's Adolescent Pavilion was completed; adult psychiatric facilities were expanded.
- 1993
- Construction began on Phase VII, Forrest General's largest expansion project.
- Forrest General announced the establishment of HealthCare Alliance, a partnership between Forrest General and area physicians to offer managed care contracts to area employers.
- The Pine Grove Coastal Care Center opened.
- 1995
- Construction was completed on Phase VII, adding 165 new patient rooms.
- Forrest General received an "Excellence Award" in the Mississippi Quality Awards Competition.
- The Pine Grove Counseling Center of Jackson opened.
- 1996
- Forrest General opened the Fifth Floor Terrace, an open-air courtyard for patients, visitors and employees above the A-wing.
- The Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory was expanded and relocated.
- Forrest General constructed an elevated parking garage.
- Lowery A. Woodall retired as executive director of Forrest General. William C. Oliver was named the new executive director.
- 1997
- Construction began on a free-standing facility for Forrest General Cancer Center.
- Forrest General neurosurgeons began using a revolutionary new device known as the Stealth System to perform delicate neurosurgical procedures.
- The Pine Grove Counseling Center of McComb opened.
- 1998
- A new Home Care facility opened on South 28th Avenue in Hattiesburg.
- The Pine Grove Counseling Center of Meridian opened.
- 1999
- The new Forrest General Cancer Center opened at 301 South 28th Avenue in Hattiesburg.
- 2000
- The Pine Grove Counseling Center of Picayune, available 24 hours, seven days a week, began operation at 2005 Wildwood in Picayune.
- Forrest General Hospital and Hattiesburg Clinic consolidated their existing occupational medicine programs to form HealthWorks LLC, a complete package of occupational medicine services for businesses and organizations.
- Lowery A. Woodall Outpatient Surgery Facility expanded and remodeled to add new spaces for patients and employees.
- Pine Grove opened Renaissance, a regional residential eating disorder treatment facility for women 18 years and older. The facility is located at 2807 Arlington Loop in Hattiesburg.
- 2001
- Forrest General's Diabetes Care Center, Outpatient Nutrition Services, Weight Management, Lipid Clinic, CardioPulmonary Rehabilitation, Smoking Cessation and Congestive Heart Failure Clinic, along with Hattiesburg Clinic's Endocrinology Department and Ost
- Pine Grove dedicated new and expanded facilities for its "Next Step" program at 2255 Broadway Dr.
- 2002
- The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) celebrated its 25th anniversary.
- Forrest General celebrated its 50th anniversary with three days of celebrations at the Hattiesburg Lake Terrace Convention Center.
- The Mississippi State Department of Health announced the permanent designation of Forrest General Hospital as a Level II Trauma Center.
- Cardiovascular surgeon Robert Robbins began leading a FDA study to evaluate patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft procedures at Forrest General, one of 100 hospitals in the United States selected to participate.
- Forrester's Food Court, Forrest General's expanded cafeteria, opened to employees and the public.
- 2003
- Forrest General expanded its Dialysis Unit from seven dialysis stations to 12.
