A Little History Behind Douglas Memorial Hospital

I noticed this particular bit of news last week.   The story deals with the death of a mom who lobbied heavily for home birth in Australia, and then died following her own home birth.

This story provides more information including reader comments.   One thing the articles don’t provide is more information regarding the cause of death.  While it’s very easy to say her choice to give birth at home killed her... that just isn’t necessarily so.    We have no knowledge regarding her health condition leading up to the birth or many other variables that can come into play in any situation. 

One reader commented that even though the majority of women give birth in hospital settings these days, we still have women that die in the hospital.

True.

Every birth has a unique set of variables where many things can happen no matter where the mother gives birth.

This story does hit home with me. 

My second child….my dear daughter….was born at home in 1993.   

Yes, it was on purpose.  

Yes, it was planned. 

   

Yes, I had assistance, and yes…..I’m all for women having a choice regarding where and how they give birth.  I didn’t choose to have a home birth lightly.   I considered it for quite some time.

I actually had three certified midwives who assisted me.   They didn’t just show up when the time came.   I spent the entire nine months doing what many pregnant women do – I took vitamins, I had ultrasounds, I saw medical professionals, and I met with my midwife regularly.  If it had been my first birth or if I had had complications during previous births I wouldn’t have even been considered for a home birth. 

Home birth worked for me.  In 1993, hospitals were just beginning to relax some of the constrictions that had been in existence for years for women giving birth.   I experienced the prevalent clinical atmosphere with the birth of my son in 1985 and didn’t want to repeat it. 


Midwives take a major role in birthing centers now…..having family around the birth mother are prevalent now….getting the mother home as soon as possible are the norm.    In 1993, when I gave birth to my daughter things were still in transition regarding birthing options, and I wanted a different experience.

One area where mothers who give birth at home have absolutely no wiggle room…..or at least I didn’t... was pain management.   I wasn’t even able to take an aspirin, but my recovery time afterward….my ability to get right back to caring for my family was much quicker than my first birth.   

Within an hour after Dear Daughter was born,  I was in the shower, dressed and walked under my own power into the Emergency Room at Douglas General Hospital where a doctor did conduct a follow up exam to make sure everything was as it should be, and of course….I was closely monitored for the next few days as well as my daughter.

Georgia’s midwives….those that work in hospitals and those who don’t……are all well trained.   This website can provide more information regarding home birth here in Georgia. 

I’m just glad women have a choice.

There was a time here in Douglas County when women didn’t have a choice.   All babies were born at home during a time when medical care during the entire nine months wasn’t given like it is now.    Many babies were lost during pregnancy and during birth because we just didn’t know the things we are privy to today.

In fact, Douglas County history tells us that it was the death of yet another mother giving birth that finally…..finally spurred the community to build a local hospital.

The year was 1946.    Medical care in Douglas County existed.   We had doctors in private practice.  I’ve written about a few of them here.      Many surgeries were conducted on dining room tables, and all babies were born at home.  One night in 1946 yet another mother died because there just wasn’t time to get her to the closest hospital in Atlanta.

The book, Douglas County, Georgia:  From Indian Trail to Interstate 20 written by Fanny Mae Davis advises Mrs. Clyde (Alma C.) Gable can be credited for founding Douglas Memorial Hospital.   This happened after she had spent the night aiding the local physician in delivering a baby where the young mother died because a trip to the Atlanta hospital could not be made in time.

The next day Mrs. Alma stood before the Douglas County Board of Commissioners in tears and pleaded with the commissioners to provide residents with a hospital.    Thankfully the men agreed with Mrs. Alma and felt it was time as well and on May 9, 1946 the Douglas County Hospital Authority was formed with the following members – Dr. W.S. O'Neal, Guy Baggett, William Chatham, R.H. Hutcheson, A.H. Stockmar, W.D. Palmer, E.M. Huffine, J. Cowan Whitley, and A.A. Fowler, Sr.

Mr. Frank P. Dorris was instrumental in providing a location for the hospital via the American Legion.  They donated the old Clover Mills School building located on 3 ½ acres of land on Fairburn Road.   You know the location today as the United Way.

The original site for Douglas Memorial Hospital

The public donated money and labor to get the building ready to house a hospital.  The cost for outfitting the building with the necessary wiring and plumbing was $22,716.66.

Most certainly a bargain considering today’s costs.

Douglas County Memorial Hospital opened its doors on April 1, 1948 with up to fifteen beds for immediately use….and just in time, too!   Their first patient was five-year-old Richard Laird.   He had a tonsillectomy. 

By April, 1949 the hospital had added five more beds and boasted 207 babies had been born within its walls.  They had treated a total of 800 patients.

In 1950, the hospital had a new addition and the beds numbered 35….by 1965, the beds numbered 51.

In January, 1971 the hospital moved to its present location beginning as a 98 bed facility and costing $3,675,000.   There would be enough space for 15 doctors on staff and 25 nurses.  A medical complex consisting of four building was also built adjacent to the hospital.  Construction was completed on the new hospital in 1974.

During 1985, Douglas Memorial Hospital treated 4,700 patients and the Emergency Room saw 15,000 people pass through their doors!

During the 1980s Katherine Gunnell was appointed to serve as Chairwomen of the Douglas County Hospital Authority.  Her goal was to provide quality healthcare for the entire community.   Mrs. Gunnell’s obituary published in the Douglas County Sentinel advises:   [Mrs. Gunnell’s] goal was nearly thwarted in 1992 when Douglas General Hospital suffered from financial problems….An informal discussion in [a] church parking [lot] with Mr. Jim Fowler, a Cobb Hospital Board member, led to a key role in laying the foundation for the WellStar Healthcare System.  This discussion led to meetings with Mr. Tom Hill, Cobb Hospital Administrator, who supported some kind of union between the hospitals and pitched it to his board.   In a little over a month the two hospitals merged to form a buying cooperative.   This successful effort led to the 1994 formation of the Promina Health Systems that included Douglas, Cobb, Kennestone hospitals, and others joined later.   In 1999, WellStar Healthcare System was formed from some of the hospitals in Promina.  Today, WellStar, over 11,000 strong, meets the needs of many communities by utilizing state of the art equipment and nationally recognized physicians and staff.   WellStar now serves over 600,000 people.

The Doctor Is In

Dysentery is more than just an upset stomach. During the late 1800s you could die from the intestinal disease. It still causes problems in various parts of the world today, and without proper medical care you and I could succumb to it as well. Folks worried about it so much the local paper here in Douglasville carried an article with the following cure for the malady which could be purchased for 15 cents back in 1885. The recipe called for 3 drachms (one eighth of a fluid ounce) of prepared chalk, 3 drachms white sugar, 1/6 oz. paregoric, and 1 drachma prepared gum Arabic. The directions advised adults should be given 1 Tablespoon every two hours until the symptoms subsided. Children could be given a half Tablespoon.

Dysentery wasn’t the only medical problem early settlers in Douglas County had to worry about. Scarlet fever, yellow fever, diphtheria, smallpox, tuberculosis, and influenza were prevalent. Folk remedies were often used and patent medicines were recommended with the belief the most strong smelling, vile-tasting concoctions were the most effective. For instance, an American Heritage article regarding pioneer medicine advises drinking sulphur was thought to be good for almost anything.

Luckily, the folks living in Douglasville and the surrounding countryside were never without several physicians to step in when needed.

In fact, one of the first doctors in the county, Dr. W.H. Poole, was practicing medicine before the county existed in 1868.  He received his diploma from Savannah Medical College about the time the Civil War broke out.  He was quickly in the thick of things and learned surgical techniques for the time period on the battle field. Dr. Poole, like many early physicians took their medicine to the patients via horseback rather than the patient having to visit an office.

The Old Courthouse Museum has an excellent exhibit regarding medicine in Douglas County  including the saddle bags belonging to another physician by the name of Delvous Houseworth that were used when he made house calls.

American Heritage advises “the typical practitioner could stuff all his supplies and equipment into his saddlebags. Usually he carried homemade bandages, a few drugs, a mortar and pestle for mixing prescriptions, some syringes, perhaps some hot water bottlers of pewter or crockery, and a small assortment of knives and saws.” [By the time Dr. Poole and Dr. Houseworth were  practicing] “they would have had added tooth forceps, stethoscope, and obstetrical instruments to the meager list.”

Two of Dr. Poole’s sons, Reuben H. and Thomas J., were doctors as well. Thomas’s obituary from 1910, can be found here and is quite interesting.

A.E. Schole’s "Georgia State Gazetteer" indicates in 1881 and 1882 James E. Henley and P.S. Verdery were the physicians at Chapel Hill.  T.A. McLarty served Dark Corner, Isham N. Brown was the doctor for Wilsonville (14 miles SW of Douglasville), J.W. Westmoreland and C.C. Garrett were listed as serving Salt Springs now known as Lithia Springs, and Dr. Poole was listed as the physician in Douglasville.

During the 1800s the education and training for a medical career wasn’t as rigorous as it is today. In her book regarding Douglas County history, Fannie Mae Davis advises, “All you needed was a good horse, a folk medicine book, and a willing patient to be in business. Medical colleges had become numerous in the state although inferior in quality. The course of study required no more than a year to complete and no internship was required. A diploma from one of the institutions was required in order to be granted a state license to practice, yet there remained a great laxity in the program. It was claimed that some medical colleges actually sold diplomas without the buyer ever attending class. As governing laws regarding curriculum were strengthened, only the fittest survived.”

An American Heritage article regarding frontier doctors states, “The greatest shortage of all was in medical knowledge and training. Until the 1860’s—and in some sections long afterward—a frontier doctor was almost any man who called himself one. It is a safe guess that not more than a fourth of them held degrees from medical schools. Most learned by the apprentice system and some were self-taught, self-appointed healers who hung out their shingles when they “got the call.”

Luckily the early doctors in Douglas County had the proper credentials, and many of them did more than just practice medicine. Dr. Thomas R. Whitley received his diploma from the Atlanta Medical College, one of the forerunners of Emory in 1876.  He was a long time resident of the area in Campbell County that would become Douglas County, served as leader of Douglasville’s city council and as the treasurer and recorder. He was involved in seeing that a major hotel was built in Douglasville and in 1890 was appointed to the Congressional and Senatorial conventions. He was mayor from 1899-1900 and then again in 1922 and 1930.  Whitley was also an original investor in the Douglasville Canning and Preserving Company was co-founder of the Douglas Sentinel newspaper and co-founder of Douglas College.

Dr. J.L. Selman also originally hailed from Campbell County and received his diploma for medicine from the Atlanta Medical College in 1879.  He was Dr. Whitley’s co-founder with the canning business, and is also remembered as Douglasville’s first permanent pharmacist. During a time when doctor’s had to mix their own drugs a permanent pharmacist was a welcome addition to the medical community in Douglasville.

Dr. J.B. Edge was also a Douglasville physician who had an office and pharmacy in 1885 located on Bowdon Street. Dr. Edge apparently was into experimentation and discovering new techniques because it is reported that he had a laboratory in his home. Fannie Mae Davis advises he concocted a tonic using local wild herbs and roots indigenous to the area.

Another well-known physician in Douglas County during the late 1880s was Dr. C.C. Garrett who practiced in Salt Springs now known as Lithia Springs. Like Drs. Whitley and Selman, Dr. Garrett was educated at the Atlanta Medical College. Not only did Dr. Garrett serve his community he was also the Chief Physician for the famous resort at Lithia Springs, and more than likely was the doctor on call during the Piedmont Chautauqua of 1888 I wrote about.

Dr. Claude V. Vansant, Sr. received his medical degree from Emory at Oxford in 1911.  He formed a partnership with his cousin, Dr. Reuben Poole (Dr. W.H. Poole’s son). They opened offices on the second floor of the Selman Building, known today as the old B & W Drug Store and now is the location for the Irish Bred Pub.

The Douglasville Museum of Art and History has the desk Dr. Vansant used in his office set up exactly as he would have used it during his 70 years of practice along with many items he used in his practice. The medical exhibit includes an early baby incubator; examination chairs as pictured here, and even his certificate to dispense opium and coca leaves.

Dr. Vansant practiced for over 70 years. I agree with Fannie Mae Davis that the length of Dr. Vansant’s practice was “in certain aspects bordering on the incredible”. Mrs. Davis continues, “In his early career there were no hospitals and no ambulance service nearer than Atlanta.  Many times a surgical operation was performed in the home. His first surgery was for the removal of a stomach tumor.  Dr. Vansant performed the operation on a dining table by the light of a kerosene lantern.  It was a successful procedure.   

Dr. Vansant never set a fee for his services and was often paid in produce, potatoes, chickens, eggs, joints of beef, or pork or sausage. Dr. Vansant was available day and night believing he did not practice medicine for pay, but to relieve pain. 

Dr. Vansant was more into service and personal satisfaction than making huge sums of money.

What a refreshing concept! 

This article first appeared at Douglasville Patch on April 11, 2011.