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Title
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Document: "The Birth of a Hospital System"
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Accession Number
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2023.75.7
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Accession Date
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13 April 2023
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Accession Creator
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David Lovegrove
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Depositor
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Found in Collection
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Description
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Explanation of history that led to the construction of a hospital in Greer. Authored by Dr. Lewis M. Davis. The accuracy of this document cannot be guaranteed.
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Format
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typed document
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Storage Location
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General Archive Box #1 Folder #13
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Text
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[page 1]
THE BIRTH OF A HOSPITAL SYSTEM
In 1944, a young physician named Dr. Frank Woodruff moved to Greer to open a practice of Medicine. He had completed his training at the Greenville General Hospital and moved to Greer in July, 1944. Along about 1946- 1947 the idea struck him that Greer could support a small hospital. He consulted with some of the leading citizens of Greer at that time, and working through the Chamber of Commerce of which some of the members included: Mr. Fred Crow; Mr. Jess McClimon; Mr. Richard Wood, Sr.; and many others of whom I do not remember their names. They, in turn, approached Mr. Jack Norman who, at that time, was the superintendent of the Greenville General Hospital which today is titled administrator. He, in turn, consulted with the Board of Trustees which included the leading citizens of Greenville. All trustees at that time had to reside within the city. Mr. Fred Sims and Mr. Roger Huntington were movers in this project to get a hospital in Greer. They gave strong support as did the entire Board of Trustees. It was determined that the city of Greer would have to raise $125,000 dollars in order to match the funds from the Hill Burton Act. With support of the leading citizens, this bond issue was passed for $125,000 dollars without difficulty. Mr. and Mrs. B. A. Bennett gave the property on which Allen Bennett was built. The name Allen Bennett was given to the hospital in memory of the son, Allen, of Mr. and Mrs. B. A. Bennett who was a naval physician who was killed in World War II.
In April, 1952, a new 27-bed hospital was opened which provided services but not all of the rare services which the Greenville General Hospital could provide. This was one of the purposes of having a satellite hospital as we could call on the Greenville General Hospital to provide services not avail- able at the Greer Hospital. These services included sending lab work over to the Greenville General as well as patients for special tests.
During the procedure of securing this hospital, it was learned that we were the only hospital within the United States which was considered to be a satellite of another hospital with only one medical staff, that is one who could be a member of the General Hospital staff and the Allen Bennett staff and was operated by the Greenville General and the Board of the Greenville General's Trustees.
[page 2]
There was one other unit in Minnesota which did some purchasing for a smaller hospital, but they had no further control. Along about this time, the Board of Trustees was enlarged from a city board to a county-wide board where it is presently operated.
Some time after Allen Bennett was opened, the hospital rooms were not air conditioned and the citizens of the Greer area donated money to buy window units for each room at Allen Bennett. This was a plus, of course, during the hot weather.
A hospital as small as Allen Bennett doesn't have much claim to fame, but we do have two things which we did before anyone else in the state had done: 1) Under Mr. Hack Botts who was Administrator at that time and Mrs. Virginia Janik who was Operating Room Supervisor, it was suggested by one of the members of the staff that we train our own surgical technicians which was done and we had the first surgical technician with on-the-job training in the state of South Carolina. At that time there were no surgical technician schools and now this is a big item in the hospital system to have surgical techs in the operating room. 2) Also, on all ambulatory admissions to the hospital, they were sent to the lab to secure their lab work before they were put to bed and this improved the efficiency of the lab technicians and reduced wasted time by not requiring the lab techs to go from floor to floor in order to get the lab work done.
Allen Bennett has been added onto three times since it was first constructed and now is in the process of removing some of the old structure and rebuilding. In about a year to a year and a half, we will have a practically new 90- bed institution which will have all of the modern, up-to-date equipment which other new hospitals will have.
I wish to thank all of the members of the Board of Trustees over the years who have been supportive of Allen Bennett which has meant a great deal to the Greer area and to the people of this community and has provided excellent health care at a convenient area.
I think the citizens of this area owe a debt of gratitude to the Greenville Hospital System.
This is how the Greenville Hospital System was born. Later on, Hillcrest Hospital was built in Simpsonville and a Travelers Rest area hospital was also built.
[page 3]
Something which could probably not be done now in 1952, when Allen Bennett was opened, the Board of Trustees decreed that there would be no patients admitted to the Allen Bennett unless they had insurance or could pay for their admission. This would be difficult to institute under the present conditions.
Lewis M. Davis, M.D.
[page 4]
Lewis M. Davis - AB Degree, Erskine College 1939
3 years Post Graduate work in surgery
MD Degree, Medical University of South Carolina 2 years service Medical Corp. Army Practiced surgery in Greer for 37 years - Retired July 1985
Moved to Greer, South Carolina - July 1948
Deacon and Elder of First Presbyterian Church, Greer
Served the following:
Board of Roper Mountain Science Center
Greenville County United Way
Board of Counsel - Erskine College
Board of Visitors - Medical University of South Carolina Active in Chamber of Commerce, President in 1972, now serves as member of Board of Directors
Board of Bank of Greer since 1961, Chairman of Board of United Carolina Bank of South Carolina since 1983
Serving on Board of UCB Bank Shares (Holding Company)
On Personnel Committee of UCB Bank Shares
Elected Commissioner to Commission of Public Works (Combined Utilities) of Greer, South Carolina 1986
Fellow American College of Surgeons Fellow International College of Surgeons
Married to Caroline Westmoreland
One son-Lewis, Jr. - Physician in Atlanta, Georgia
