HISTORY

It was in 1890 that 7 Dominican sisters founded St. Joseph's Hospital in Aberdeen. Seven years later, in 1897, Aberdeen General Hospital was organized by the late Paul Smits, MD—a young physician from the University of Minnesota.

In 1929, Aberdeen General and Hoquiam General Hospitals consolidated in order to improve efficiency and expand services to the community. Later, the Inter-City Hospital Association was formed, and the following year, in 1941, Hoquiam General Hospital closed its doors.

In 1945, faced with a potentially fatal financial crisis within the Association, representatives of the community formed a committee to save the hospital, whose service was vital to the health and welfare of the Harbor. Volunteer membership consisted of labor, industry, business and the general public.

In November 1945, the name Grays Harbor Community Hospital was adopted to reflect the community ownership.

In 1956, the building housing the hospital no longer met requirements of the State Licensing Act. After a series of meetings with members of the community, the board of directors made a decision to build a new 96-bed hospital. The project was financed through public donation (60 percent) and the Hill-Burton Act (40 percent).

In a demonstration of outstanding community spirit, more than 6,000 individuals, businesses and organizations pledged in excess of a million dollars to ensure construction of the hospital. The new facility on Anderson Drive (Schweitzer Hill) was opened in December 1959.

As the community and its needs grew, a new patient tower was added in 1987. In 1988, Grays Harbor Community Hospital purchased St. Joseph's Hospital, thereby forming the East and West campuses that we see today.

In June 2006, the E.K. & Lillian Bishop Tower and Dr. Juris Macs Emergency Department opened, tripling the space of the hospital's existing emergency department. It also created shelled space beneath and above, along with a rooftop helipad. This kicked off several years of construction and renovation and the investment of more than $30 million dollars.

In 2007 major renovations on 1st floor of East Campus were done and physical therapy (RehabVisions) was moved from ground floor to the new 1st floor location.

The hospital formed a limited liability corporation (Grays Harbor Community Hospital Physician Services, LLC) in 2007 as a way in which physicians could be employed. Physician recruiting was becoming difficult as, nationally, doctors were increasingly more interested in being employed than going into private practice.

In 2008, a new laboratory was built in the shelled basement of the Bishop Tower and the imaging department was significantly expanded in size, with the addition of a 64 slice CT scanner and x-ray equipment.

In November 2009, The Wound Healing Center was built on the 3rd floor of East Campus and expansion of the endoscopy suite was done. It was renamed The Special Procedure Center.

In 2010 the diagnostic imaging department was remodeled with the addition of nuclear medicine and radiological fluoroscopy equipment.

In January 2011, a surgical suite was built to provide interventional services.

In February 2013, the newly remodeled lobby was unveiled, better representing the quality of care that patients and customers receive.

July 2014 marked the unveiling of the major remodel for the Nutrition Department and the Three Rivers Café; the first since the hospital opened in 1959.

In August 2014, Grays Harbor Community Hospital won the county election to transition to Grays Harbor Public Hospital District #2.

On January 01, 2015, the official Grays Harbor Public Hospital District #2 commenced with a board of seven elected commissioners; replacing the previous community citizen board.

September 2015 marked the grand opening of the Blood Draw @ East Campus. The added location allows for tests to be scheduled immediately following patient appointments, for single-trip convenience.

In December 2015, GHCH dissolved its relationship with South Sound Radiology and assumed full ownership of Grays Harbor Imaging, its services and equipment.

In May 2019, the Cardiology program began at GHCH, along with the Cardiac Catheterization Lab, ushering in a new level of care available to our patients on the Harbor.

In March of 2020, GHCH and HMG along with all clinics began special restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In December 2020, GHCH injected its first COVID-19 vaccines and quickly turned to support the County COVID-19 Interagency IMT in developing a mass vaccination clinic at the Port of Grays Harbor.

On April 5th 2021, Grays Harbor Community Hospital and Harbor Medical Group announced a new united brand name, Harbor Regional Health.

On December 1st, 2021 the former St. Joeseph’s/East Campus was dedicated as the William and Patricia Warren Medical Services Building (Warren Building) in honor of Richard and Patricia Warren whose estate created a trust of just over $6.3 million for the Harbor Regional Health Community Hospital Foundation Foundation.