Medical Milestones in Central Baptist Hospital's History
 


Medical Milestones

May 9, 1954Central Baptist Hospital was dedicated. On May 12, Central Baptist opens its doors with 173 beds, 25 bassinets, 168 employees and 169 physicians on staff.
1957Central Baptist opens one of the first intensive care units in the country. Nurses from all over the U.S. come to the unit to learn intensive care nursing techniques.
1964The hospital welcomes its first set of triplets..
1965Central Baptist opens a new 65-bed addition to the hospital, including a new emergency room.
1968The laboratory at Central Baptist is automated with a new CoulterCounter to perform blood counts and an SMA1260 to perform 12 chemical analyses of the blood.
1972The hospital opens a new, 70-bed addition. Bed count now stands at 300, with 31 bassinets.
1974Central Baptist begins training paramedics to handle heart attack victims prior to hospital admission. Paramedics are taught to recognize life-threatening arrhythmias, administer drugs and start and maintain IVs.

The hospital also purchases the Medical Towers South professional building at 1800 Nicholasville Road.
1976Central Baptist becomes the first general private hospital in Lexington to adopt the Unit Dose System of dispensing medications to patients. The system was started to reduce the potential for drug errors and make hospitalization safer for patients.
1977The addition of the new OB unit at the front of the hospital is completed.
1978The hospital enhances its obstetrical services with private labor rooms and a new neonatal intensive care unit.
Nov 20, 1980The first cardiac catheterization is performed in Central's new cardiac catheterization laboratory.
1982CBH's first open heart procedure is performed. Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for a major hospital expansion. Also, the hospital's oncology program is accredited for the first time by the American College of Surgeons Commission.
1983Central Baptist welcomes its 50,000 baby into the world.
1984Central Baptist celebrates its 30th anniversary. A 60,000-square-foot office building (1780) is completed, as well as a new parking garage. The hospital's new facilities include a new surgical ICU, a nursery, recovery room and family waiting rooms. The neonatal unit, laboratory, radiation facilities, respiratory therapy facilities and EEG department are expanded.
1985Central Baptist completes another addition, including all-new surgical suites, a new recovery room, a new ICU, a 426-space parking garage and 73 new acute care beds. A Midsummer Night's Run debuts, and the home health service is launched.
1990William G. Sisson is named president of Central Baptist Hospital on July 2, 1990. Under his leadership, the institution will experience some of its most dramatic growth and success to date.
1991Central Baptist offers help for infertile couples who want a baby by opening an assisted reproduction program. Construction of the 1760 medical office building is completed.
1992The assisted reproduction program is expanded with the opening of a reproductive endocrinology lab.
1994The post interventional unit opens to provide safe and cost-effective care to patients following coronary angioplasty, stent or atherectomy procedures.

Central Baptist is the first hospital in central and eastern Kentucky to offer stereotactic breast biopsies to women with abnormal mammograms. The new procedure offers a safe, relatively painless, non-scarring and cost-effective alternative to surgical biopsy
1997The cardiovascular observation unit opens to provide specialized care for patients before and after cardiac catheterization procedures. The hospital begins independent critical care transport service. Central Baptist establishes the first comprehensive women's center in Lexington.
1998BaptistWorx, an occupational medicine provider, opens. Central Baptist is named one of the 50 fastest growing hospitals in the nation and is the only acute care facility in the state to win a Kentucky Quality Commission Award for outstanding management practices. Baby Central, the region's first online nursery, becomes part of the Central Baptist Web site.
1999In September, Central Baptist welcomes its 100,000th baby into the world.
2000Central Baptist opens its newest expansion, a 240,000-square-foot medical facility housing the ambulatory surgery center, the Baptist Heart Institute, the Cancer Care Center, the research center and medical office space.
2003Construction begins on the Central Baptist Diagnostic Center (replacing the Medical Heights location) at the corner of Nicholasville Road and Southland Drive.
2004The Central Baptist Diagnostic Center, one of the area's first fully filmless imaging centers, opened Jan. 2.
2004The Women's Health Central Assessment Center opened Jan. 2 in the Diagnostic Center building.


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