Our History

Fifty Years of Healing

Hutcheson Medical Center boasts a rich heritage rivaled by few hospitals. Located near the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park, Hutcheson sits amidst a treasure of Civil War memories. Additionally, the oldest part of the Medical Center campus, The Post Hospital, was built between 1902 and 1904 and served the U.S. Sixth Calvary and other troops stationed in Fort Oglethorpe through five decades and both world wars. Many of America's greatest fighting men, including Pershing, Patton and Eisenhower, knew The Post Hospital well.

In 1947, the first inter-county hospital authority in the United States was formed: the Hospital Authority of Walker, Dade and Catoosa Counties. The Hospital Authority acquired The Post Hospital from the War Assests Administration, and, with it, 90 acres of land and other buildings and facilities.

Six years later, on November 8, 1953, Tri-County Hospital, a 60-bed healthcare facility, opened its doors. From the very beginning, the hospital emphasized personal, quality patient care. In 1955, the hospital became the second youngest facility in America to receive full accreditation from JCAHO (The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations). In 1961, the hospital became the first in the South to inaugurate progressive patient care.

The 1980s brought both change and progress to the hospital. In 1982, with the leadership of the Board of Trustees, the hospital began an ambitious $20 million construction and renovation program. A new five-story doctors' building was opened in 1985, the same year the hospital's name was changed to Hutcheson Medical Center.

Throughout the years of growth that followed, Hutcheson added a Children's Learning Center, Home Health Care, Women's Center, Parkside Nursing Home, three new Family Practice Centers, a Mobile Healthcare Van, a Cardiac Rehabiliation Program, LaFayette Medical Park, Hutcheson on the Parkway, Fuller Cancer Center, Battlefield Auxiliary Breast Center and Battlefield Imaging.

Additional services at Hutcheson include a Surgery Center, Outpatient Rehabilitation Services, and Emergency Medical Services.

In 1997, the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals and the Healthcare Management Advisors, Inc. named Hutcheson the "1997 Hospital of the Year". In 1999, 2001 and 2002, Hutcheson was recognized as one of the top three hospitals in the state by the same organization.