Morrell Memorial Hospital

As a growing, progressive city in the early 1900s Lakeland was in dire need of a dedicated hospital space to ensure the health of its citizens. During this time the medical field was advancing from home remedies into more technical and scientific methods. A community hospital allowed for application of treatments in a sterile environment which greatly improved healthcare salutem cura. A generous donation of land, and a public bond issue moved Lakeland towards this goal by 1916. A path that continues with Lakeland Regional Healthcare system providing quality health services for the community. This story requires a careful elucidation!

Initially there was no need for a permanent hospital in the newly incorporated Lakeland but due to outbreaks of contagious diseases across the state, temporary facilities were set-up here. In 1887, the city was designated as a quarantine camp during the summer due to cases of yellow fever in the Tampa area. Health inspectors from around the state traveled to the Lakeland area to assess and gather data.

A few years later, military troop encampments in the area provided their own medical facility during the Spanish-American War in 1898. More than 6000 troops assembled in a city with a population of less than 1000 setting the scene for a potential medical emergency. The military was prepared though no medical event was noted.

By 1905, a “pest house” was erected on land donated by J.E. Griffin of West Lakeland. This facility was used for contagious people during a small pox outbreak.

Healthcare facilities were limited across Central Florida in the early 1900s. Medical care was conducted at the patient’s home or in the doctor’s office. Dr. J. L. Derieux is listed in the 1885 as one of the first physicians in Lakeland. Drugstores and druggists would often provide on the spot diagnosis and dispense medications.

A small private hospital was opened by Dr. A. R. Bond in 1906. A few years later this site on West Tennessee Avenue was known as the Lakeland Sanatorium. A few other sanatoriums, places for long term convalescence, sprung-up in the city – one was located on Pennsylvania Avenue near Lake Morton and for a while the C.W. Deen house on McDonald Avenue was used as one too.

As Lakeland’s population rose, so did the need for a permanent medical care unit. This need was satisfied when Mrs. Jane Morrell passed away in 1914. She owned a number of properties and in her will bequeathed land located on South Missouri, between Lemon and Orange Streets, to be used as a hospital for the community.

The city supported this with a bond to fund construction of the building. Plans were drawn by local architect Albert J. Poteet, while the construction was completed by E.C. Angel. In August 1916, the 2-story Morrell Memorial Hospital opened with 25 beds, and a staff of 24.

The 1920s brought rapid real estate development and even more population to Lakeland. Public health awareness, combined with the 1918-1919 pandemic of the Spanish flu, pushed the need for a larger hospital. The city declared this mandate an emergency measure “necessary for the immediate preservation of public peace, property, health and safety.”

A 1924 bond vote allotted $300,000 for purchase of land and construction of a new municipal hospital. This facility was constructed on Lakeland Hills Boulevard in 1926. The new Morrell Memorial Hospital provided space for 100 beds.

Lakeland was a racially segregated town in its first decades. The African-American medical community, initially led by Dr. D. J. Simpson, was also growing and in need of a dedicated, local hospital.

Medical care was performed in the patients home but the very ill had to use a Tampa hospital forty-miles away. In 1919, citizen activist, Ben Sullivan appeared before city commission urging the establishment of a colored hospital. Private funds were solicited via newspapers.

The 1924 city bond issue which provided capital for a larger white hospital also included $25,000 for building a separate facility for blacks. In August of 1926, the colored hospital opened two blocks north of 10th Street and 1 block west of Dakota Street.

This single-story hospital provided space for 20 beds in 2 wards and six private rooms with a kitchen, dining room and operating suite. It was designed by architect A.J. Poteet and built by Billman-Purdy Co. In 1934, the hospital was closed for refurbishment. Due to the cost associated with staffing the hospital, it never reopened.

A few years later the building was designated for use as a pre-school. During this time, a portion of the larger Morrell Hospital was designated for use by blacks until the hospital was integrated in the 1960s at the urging of Dr. John S. Jackson.

In lieu of formal college programs for nurses, local hospitals often offered nurses training. This 2-year, diploma program was part instruction and part on the job training under direction of a hospital doctor and staff nurse.

Young women in this program would live near the hospital in a Nurse’s Home. Both the Morrell Memorial Hospital and Colored Hospital provided this type of opportunity for the bedside nurse. The nurses cap and pin would identify which program they attended. This training supplied skilled nurses for the community.

By 1959, the hospital was in need of expansion. A new six-story, 322-bed building was constructed beside the older hospital. The facility’s name was changed to Lakeland General Hospital.

Almost immediately this facility was too small. The upper floors of the newly built hospital, which were intended for growth over the next ten years, had to be opened up. Over the next decade the hospital continued to expand. In 1966 a Southwest wing is added providing an additional 140 beds with an enlarged lab, radiology, PT and admitting sections. A twin wing was completed the following year.

Another construction project added 300 more beds in 1974. The old Morrell Memorial Hospital building was used for administrative purposes.

To make way for expanded medical facilities, the old Morrell Memorial Hospital was torn down in 1977. The name of the facility was changed to Lakeland Regional Medical Center in 1982. This medical system continues to provide the Lakeland and surrounding community with the newest technology and qualified medical personnel.

The original Morrell Hospital on Missouri Avenue still stands and is part of the St. Joseph Catholic Church campus.