John Graves Ford Memorial Hospital

 

This was one of the first abandonments I stumbled upon when I first came to the University of Kentucky in Lexington. The hospital stood abandoned for many years near the center of Georgetown, and it was a pretty stark derelict. Broken windows were galore, and boards lay on the ground, ripped by vandalizing teenagers looking for a cheap thrill of potentially finding ghosts and goblins. And the infamous homeless rapist that was so scrawled on the walls.

 

Inside, infant incubators lay about in an orderly fashion, along with pill dispensing equipment, stoves and patient records. It's all gone now, along with the original 1917 front, the 1952 north wing, and the 1972 west wing.

 

Nothing stands in its place today.

 

I updated the essay today, copied below, and added two scans from a document retried from the Scott County and Georgetown Historical Museum.

 

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In 1916, John Graves Ford, a grandson of Mrs. John B. Graves, was stricken with appendicitis, He was taken to a hospital in Lexington where he later died after a brief illness. To forestall the possibility of future occurrences, Mrs. Graves jump started funding for a new hospital by donating $35,000 [3] that would serve as a memorial to her grandson. [4][3] Construction on the new hospital began later that year and was finished by 1917. [3]

 

^ Shortly before demolition.

 

In 1952, a new addition was constructed north of the existing facility. The two-story structure featured a full basement, a new oil-based boiler system, numerous patient rooms and a emergency room. [5] Another expansion occurred in 1972, when a western wing opened with twenty patient rooms, two nurses' stations, and a family room. [4] It was designed by Donald B. Shelton and was constructed for $150,000.

 

^ 1972 expansion plans, which included two floors with a total of twenty patient rooms.

 

During this time, however, the financial situation of the hospital was put into question. [3] Patients would enter the hospital and not be able to pay their bills and over the run of several decades, the hospital became a drain to the county. Several attempts were made to sell the hospital to a private organization but these efforts failed.

 

In 1984, the hospital closed its doors after it was purchased by a regional healthcare provider and reopened in a larger, more spacious location outside of the city. [3]

 

^ A used baby incubator.

 

In the following year, Edmund Karam of Lexington purchased the former hospital site. [3] The new owner attempted to diversify the hospital site into offices, eventually hosting the Edward D. Jones & Company in the original 1916 structure, but this would only last a few years. In 1999, with minimal upkeep and major water damage overtaking the structure, the city of Georgetown condemned the property in 1999.

 

^ Pull dispensing machine.

 

During this time, an Indiana company and a Louisville firm requested permission from the city to convert the former hospital to an assisted living community for senior citizens. [3] Once considered a likely deal, renovations were expected to take one-year to complete. Each apartment would have included a bedroom, living room, a small kitchenette and a bathroom, with larger common rooms being scattered about. The total cost of renovations would have been $1.8 million, but due to deteriorating conditions at the property site, the firms withdrew their plans in 2003.

 

^ Rooms were filled with various equipment and implements.

 

In 2005, the city took up condemnation efforts against the owners. Karam and his son, Abe, had failed to pay the fines which had been levied by the city. [1][2] The owners had until July 21, 2005 to review their financial situations before the fate of the hospital went before the Georgetown City Council. The city had been going through with condemnation and demolition proceedings at the site, but at a council meeting July 7, the owners requested for a 90-day extension before filing financial paperwork as numerous people were interested in buying the property for renovation. These efforts failed and the Georgetown Board of Adjustment voted to allow the demolition. [3] Georgetown Mayor Everette Varney said the town had received several inquiries about renovating the building, but the extent of the damage it had sustained made restoration no longer feasible.

 

'I made a stand for quite some time that it should be saved, both for the meaning it conveyed to the community and for the excellent architecture, especially in the front part.'

 

--Scott County historian Ann Bevins

 

Asbestos abatement began in April 2006. When the hospital was demolished in May, it put to death a building that had 90-years of history. [3]

It's sad that so much equipment often is abandoned and ultimately destroyed when a hospital closes. A lot of the equipment may be old, even obsolete by current standards, but much of it is still serviceable and I'd think it would be prized by clinics and medical missions in impoverished countries.

Interesting thread.

 

A lot of the equipment may be old, even obsolete by current standards, but much of it is still serviceable and I'd think it would be prized by clinics and medical missions in impoverished countries.

 

Excellent thought. It is a shame.

 

I've always wondered what kind of collectable market there is for medical equiptment as well. In Hamilton, a doctor purchased the old Tayor School building and has it packed with his collection of old medical equiptment, x-ray machines, etc.