50th Anniversary

A History of Service

More than fifty years ago, visionary civic leaders began to consider the health care needs of the Arlington community. They understood that for the city and surrounding communities to thrive, residents needed convenient access to high-quality health care.

A survey conducted to determine the need, cost and method of financing a hospital, confirmed the leaders' vision - Arlington could support its own hospital. In 1957, 300 community leaders went door to door, canvassing every single home twice, to raise the funds needed to build Arlington Memorial Hospital.

There was tremendous support for their efforts. "A donation of 50 cents was asked of each person," said an Arlington Journal article promoting the fundraising campaign. The Vandergriff family decided they could go a little beyond that call and donated the nine-acre site for the new hospital. General Motors, set on becoming an integral part of the community, gave $65,000.

By the end of the campaign, $250,000 was raised for a down payment to begin construction of the million-dollar facility. Arlington Memorial Hospital opened its doors February 10, 1958. Since then, it has been growing with the community.

In 1997, Arlington Memorial joined Texas Health Resources. Texas Health is the largest faith-based, nonprofit health care system in Texas and one of the largest in the nation. The move gave Arlington Memorial even more leverage to pursue and offer the best service and technology to patients.

The leaders of Texas Health Arlington Memorial have always anticipated the health care needs of the community. From expanding the hospital and providing Arlington's first CT scan in 1978 to opening the doors to a high-tech surgical tower in 2007, they have continually met those needs with dedication.

It's this rich heritage that Texas Health Arlington Memorial leaders, employees, volunteers and physicians on the medical staff will build upon as they embark on the next 50 years of health care service.

50th Anniversary Timeline

• 1956: An 11-week fundraising effort begins to cover the hospital's $250,000 down payment. After a successful fundraiser, former Mayor Tom Vandergriff and his family generously donated nine acres for the hospital's site.
• 1957: Groundbreaking ceremony held for Arlington Memorial Hospital.
• 1958: The 75-bed community hospital opens on February 10.
• 1976: Arlington Memorial Hospital grows by 59,430 square feet, adding the city's first day-surgery clinic and a high-tech CT-Scanner.
• 1992: The hospital begins offering family-focused maternity care with the opening of its Women's and Children's Center.
• 1997: Arlington Memorial Hospital joins Texas Health Resources, a faith-based non-profit health care system that also included Presbyterian Healthcare System and Harris Methodist Hospitals.
• 2003: State-of-the-art cardiac suites open in the Heart Pavilion.
• 2007: Tom Vandergriff Surgical Tower opens. The 200,000 square-feet facility houses 16 operating rooms and 48 private patient rooms.

By the Numbers: Then and Now

1958

• Opened February 10 at 2 p.m.
• 75 beds
• $1 million facility
• 80 employees
• 50 nurses
• Almost 300 members of hospital auxiliary 
• Two "major" operating rooms, one "minor" operating room
• 17 babies born the first week 
• Treated 106 patients in first 11 days
• In first year, there were 4,286 patients, 846 births and 2,165 ER visits
• Board Chair: G.C. Waldrop
• Hospital Administrator: Alma Webb
• Population of Arlington: 43,500
• Planning for a new hospital in Arlington began in 1954.

• 417 beds
• 2,087 employees
• 753 nurses
• 621 physicians on the medical staff
• 2007 saw 2,635 babies born, 17,094 admissions and 63,354 ER patients 
• 400 members of hospital auxiliary
• $76 million Tom Vandergriff Surgical Tower with 16 operating suites opened
• Board Chair: Wendell Nedderman
• Hospital president: Kirk King, FACHE
• Population of Arlington: 350,370