History

Barrow Regional Medical Center History

Winder's first hospital was made possible by the Hill Burton Act and opened for patients in 1951. The East Broad Street location served the Barrow County community from 1951 - 1983.

The current facility on North Broad Street opened in September 1983 and the Medical Office Building was added in January 1995.



Barrow Regional Medical Center, now owned by Health Management Associates, Inc (HMA) offers a great variety of health care services, the latest technology, and a new level of commitment not seen before in this area. Being part of the community has been an important goal throughout the years and we are dedicated to the health of our community.

Doctors Day in Winder

Doctors Day was started in Winder, Georgia in 1933 by Mrs. Eudora Brown Almond, wife of Dr. Charles B. Almond and the Barrow County Alliance, a group of physicians’ wives. They chose March 30th to honor all doctors on the anniversary of the first use of anesthesia by Dr. Crawford Long in nearby Jefferson, on March 30, 1842. Festivities included cards sent to physicians and their wives, flowers on the graves of deceased doctors and a formal dinner. This dinner was held at the home of Dr. and Mrs. William T. Randolph. In 1934, the Doctors’ Day celebration became a statewide honor on May 10, 1934 as a resolution was adopted at the state meeting in Augusta. The Southern Medical Association first observed Doctors’ Day in 1936, and also honored Mrs. Almond with a bronze marker at the Barrow County Courthouse on August 1, 1989. In 1990, legislation was introduced to the U.S. Congress to make Doctors’ Day a national celebration, and President George H.W. Bush signed Senate Joint Resolution #336 designating March 30 as National Doctors’ Day.

During renovations, the plaque at the Barrow County Courthouse honoring Mrs. Almond was misplaced. After searching late in 2008, the Barrow County Historical Society found the plaque, and held a rededication of the bronze marker honoring Eudora Almond as the originator of Doctors’ Day inside the Barrow County Museum on Saturday, March 28, 2009. On hand to celebrate the rededication were Dr. Garey H. Huff, Sr., Dr. Garey H. Huff, Jr., Dr. Audrey Huff, Dr. Hugh Hodges, Dr. C.B. Skelton (retired), Mrs. W.T. Randolph (who hosted the first dinner at her home) and Dr. Pamela Settle Miles, a physician from University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, and originally from Winder.

      
The Huffs with the re-dedicated            Dr. Huff Sr, Dr. Huff Jr & Dr. Hodges      Dr. Huff and Dr. Skelton listen to
marker for Mrs. Almond                          watch the festivities at the museum.      Mrs. Randolph tell a story.

Area physicians are honored every year on or around Doctors Day by Barrow Regional Medical Center. In attendance at the 2011 luncheon (in alphabetical order): Dr. Rasha Al Samara, Dr. Altaf Aman, Dr. Rami Arfoosh, Dr. Dwight Austin, Dr. Stella Bulengo, Dr. David Causey, Dr. Marian Colosimo, Dr. Gary Daniels, Dr. Doy Gay, Dr. Gedion Getachew, Dr. Hugh Hodges, Dr. William MacNew, Dr. Aja McCutchen, Dr. Tara Merritt, Dr. Kenneth O’Neal, Dr. Carla Price, Dr. Adeel Rahman, Dr. Rhett Rainey, Dr. Lorrie Richardson-ONeal, Dr. Richard Schlossberg, Dr. Manan Shah, Dr. W. Thomas Shoaf III, Dr. C.B. “Doc” Skelton, Dr. Jeralyn Smith, Dr. Joe Souther, Dr. Sharon Taylor, Dr. Claire Visitacion, Dr. Drew Xenos