Deeply Rooted in Our Community
Coffee Regional Medical Center has helped shape the vast changes in healthcare in the region. Our history is entwined with that of Douglas and Coffee County.
Birth of Douglas Hospital
Although Coffee County had well-trained doctors from the late 1800s, the only hospitals in the area were small, private facilities – one in a doctor’s own home – that could not be sustained. In 1932, two nurses established a small clinic, paving the way for what eventually became CRMC. Based on this clinic, the city donated land on East Ward Street to construct Douglas Hospital, which opened in 1935. However, within a decade, the community’s needs had outgrown the small facility.
Time to Grow
In 1946, the newly created Coffee County Hospital Authority applied for federal funds available through Hill-Burton Act, designed to help states improve the nation’s hospital system. Citizens voted overwhelmingly to provide the necessary matching funds. In October 1953, the new three-story, 60-bed, almost $1 million hospital was dedicated. At the time, Governor Herman Talmadge called it, “not only one of the most beautiful, but also the most modern and best-equipped hospitals in the country.”
And Grow Again
Over the next 40 years, Coffee General Hospital, as it was renamed in 1968, continued to grow. By 1975, the hospital featured 155 beds, an intensive care unit, and an emergency room. In 1983, the hospital added administrative and diagnostic radiology wings. However, it was increasingly hard for the 1953 building to keep up with community needs, the space demands of continually expanding technology, and changing building codes. In 1994, the Hospital Authority voted to restructure Coffee Regional Hospital by forming a new community-based, non-profit corporate structure that allowed the hospital to be financially self-sufficient. Construction began, and the current medical center opened in 1998. The new facility was more than 50 percent larger than the previous facility. In addition, two doctors’ buildings were erected next door to house physician practice suites. In 2005, the CRMC Wellness Center opened in the 2nd doctor’s building, offering the community a unique place to help improve health and quality of life.
Many specialty services have been added throughout the past 25 years. These services continue to grow increasingly broad and complex to serve the healthcare needs of this community. Expansions include cardiac intervention, orthopedics and spine surgery, bariatrics, and oncology and infusion services. Digital technology, such as telemedicine, continues to broaden the hospital’s reach by allowing its clinicians to confer with medical professionals outside our system, including our eICU collaboration with Emory Healthcare. Below are some highlights from the last decade.
2015 & 2017 Coffee Regional named Small Hospital of the Year by Georgia Trend Magazine
2017 Coffee Regional partnered with Emory Healthcare as an affiliate.
2018 The Heart & Vascular Center opened.
2018 EMS Recognized as EMS Service of the Year by the Georgia EMS Association
2020 Coffee Regional expanded to a 98-bed facility.
2021 Addition of a 2nd state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab.
2022 Coffee Regional Named Orthopedic Center of Excellence by DNV
2022 Hanna Family Cancer Center opens.
2022 Coffee Regional Medical Center Earns National Accreditation from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons
2023 EICU program begins.
2023 Coffee Regional Medical Center achieves accreditation from the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program®
Thanks to Coffee Regional Medical Center’s committed clinicians and staff and the longstanding support of the community, CRMC continues to provide our citizens with the highest-quality healthcare. It is a vital part of what makes this area such a wonderful place to live and do business. Explore our website to find out more about who we are today!