Russell Medical Center

History

Founded by Benjamin C Russell to provide health services for the employees of Russell Manufacturing Company and residents of Alexander City Russell Hospital opened its doors Wednesday July 17 1923 The 55bed hospital was built on Lee Street across from Russwood the Russell family compound on the current site of the Alexander City Board of Education The Colonial style structure featured three and onehalf stories consisting of a large central structure and two wings The east wing contained the private rooms while the west wing contained the ward The hospital provided general medical surgical and obstetrical services

Shortly after its opening a training school for nurses was conducted under the supervision of Miss Maysie McWilliams superintendent of the hospital During the schools duration eighteen diplomas were presented to nurses

Dr James A Chapman joined Russell Hospital in 1925 as Chief of Staff and continued to serve as company doctor until his retirement in the early 1950s

In 1941 an annex consisting of five private rooms and a nursery was added to the rear of the first floor of Russell Hospital In that same year Mrs Elisabeth Russell Mrs JC Alison the only daughter of Mr And Mrs Benjamin Russell was elected a vice president of Russell Manufacturing Company and President and Chairman of the Board of Russell Hospital She supervised the management of the hospital and served as President and Chairman of the Board until her death in 1970

In 1948 another expansion project resulted in the addition of a new delivery room lyingin room a ward additional private room and sterilizing room The nursery was enlarged and a pediatrics ward was opened in the central structure In addition an annex extending from the east wing was completed containing seven rooms for medical and surgical patients A free clinic for Russell employees and their families was also moved to the basement of the new addition

By 1952 nurses lived on the grounds of the hospital in a 10bedroom house complete with living room and kitchen Although the hospital has always been opened to the public it was maintained by Russell Manufacturing Company which later became Russell Corporation an international textile manufacturing company throughout the first decades Mr JC Thornton served as the first business manager

In 1953 James W Brown Jr became hospital administrator The hospital attained a giant step in 1959 with accreditation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals That same year the Russell Hospital Corporation was organized and the original Russell Hospital was transferred to the Corporation Upon transfer the Corporation began planning for a replacement facility The existing site located on US Highway 280 was acquired from Russell Corporation and construction of a new 100bed facility commenced in 1963

The doors of the new hospital characterized by the modern forest green tile were opened to the public on February 2 1965 The fourstory structure contained 62000 square feet of floor space Archives from The Alexander City Outlook noted Rock of a rather hard quality was encountered in digging the foundation of the building and over 3500 sticks of dynamite were required to blast out an adequate foundation

The medical facilities were again expanded in 1977 1990 1998 2001 2004 and 2008 In 1989 the Professional Office Building adjacent to the hospital was constructed and dedicated in honor of Mr James Brown In 1996 the facility name was changed from Russell Hospital and Healthcare Centers to Russell Medical Center reflecting the changes in services technology and complexity

Frank Harris was named President and CEO in 1994 The complex underwent substantial transformations under his tenure The 1998 expansion project was the largest undertaking and included expansion of ambulatory surgery conversion to all private patient rooms ground floor addition of 7300 square feet first floor increase of 29500 square feet second floor increase of 15500 square feet and third floor increase of 3140 square feet Hallmarks of this expansion included expanding space for clerical and patient care areas fixed base MRI and a cardiac catheterization lab improved efficiency of the intensive care unit and addition of an intermediate care stepdown unit The third floor proudly opened four stateoftheart birthing suites and enhanced pediatric wing

In 2001 Phase II of the expansion program was completed with the addition of The Cancer Center at RMC The Sleep Disorders Center at RMC and Medical Park Family Care located 17 miles away in Dadeville AL

Phase III was completed in 2004 featuring Total Fitness a 20000 square foot fitness and rehabilitation facility housing cardiac rehabilitation physical therapy sports medicine occupational therapy medical fitness and aquatic therapy 30000 square feet of additional office space was added to the Professional Office Building for physician office suites 3000 square feet was added to the clinical laboratory and a new outpatient dialysis suite was constructed The areas first true open MRI was also added to enhance diagnostic imaging capabilities at Russell Medical Center

LE Peace III became Russell Medical Centers current President and CEO in January 2008 Under his leadership a new strategic plan has been initiated and several construction projects and technology upgrades have been launched including the total renovation and expansion of the Emergency Department and the relocation of PreAdmission Testing to the Professional Office Building

Exciting things are happening at Russell Medical Center Join us as we continue to build a healthy future for the Lake Martin area based on our strong foundation of the past