Jackson Hospital

Jackson Hospital has been an integral part of the community since it was chartered in 1939 through an act of the Florida Legislature. The legislation created a corporation to be governed by nine trustees. These trustees are appointed to the board by the Governor of Florida and are vested with the charge, control and management of the property, services and funds.

Construction on the original structure, located on Third Avenue, began in 1940 and was completed on January 1, 1942. It served the community for 37 years. On September 30, 1979, the present facility opened for business. Over the next 27 years, the fourth floor was added, a helipad was built with funds donated by the late Beulah Tidwell, a new out-patient surgery center and lab were completed and, with a donation by Ms. Clara Hudnall, the Hudnall Medical Office Building was constructed.

Jackson Hospital and its Board strive to continuously improve services by updating equipment to provide more extensive and comprehensive diagnoses. The new state-of-the-art 16- slice Computerized Tomography (CT) system can assist physicians in diagnosing patients who may be suffering from heart attacks, strokes, trauma, kidney stones, and all types of abdominal pain. It is capable of performing arterial and vascular studies as well as three-dimensional reconstructions. In a single rotation, the CT scanner creates 16 high resolution anatomical image slices as thin as a credit card.

The growing technology acquisition of more sophisticated equipment is contributing to the lack of adequate space in the present facility, as is the increased demand for both in and outpatient treatment space. To address the obvious inadequacies of the existing space, the Board of Trustees has elected to build a new hospital to meet the demands of the community and the more stringent state and federal safety and fire codes and the new building codes which specify adequately sized private patient rooms.

Jackson Hospital is home to over 400 employees and has an annual payroll of more than $14 million. Jackson Hospital’s Emergency Department is the only 24-hour a day physician staffed ER in a four-county area. Jackson Hospital’s vision is to become the first choice for healthcare needs in our defined service area.

Jackson Hospital, where high tech care and home town caring come together.