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»n Spfay^ Droper and ieskivilte.N
^L. XVIII
Spray, N. C., Monday, May 2, 1960
NO. 21
|lew Community Hospital Is Dedicated
' Tri-Cities’ Ultra-Modern Morehead Memorial Hospital Which the Generous Contributions Of Fieldcresters Helped To Build
f^^ques In New Building Honor Fieldcresters
Generous Support In Finance Campaign
4s
The Mill Whistle went to press
^ ,, * ,, — —
5^ *riday afternoon, open house was
Way at the new Morehead Me-
,.*^1 Hospital. The building was open
‘fispection by the public from 2 p. m.
5 P. m. Friday and Saturday and
5 3 p. m. to 8 p. m. Sunday.
® dedication of the new hospital
Scheduled for 2:30 p. m. Sunday.
Dj, Hodges, John Motley Morehead,
^sentatives of the North Carolina
*cai Care Commission, the architect,
5f^'^°ntractors, and other dignitaries
^ to attend the ceremonies.
j*I>resents Investment of $1,750,000
^Presenting an investment of over
ijjAOOo, the hospital building and fa-
k arg considered the finest to be
■ij in this part of the United States,
building is air conditioned, com-
, ^ equipped and modern in every
:«ct.
Completion is the culmination of
k ® that were begun in late 1953
the incorporation of Tri-City Hos
tile. and the purchase of the pri
vately-owned Leaksville Hospital. A
gift of $50,003 from Marshall Field &
Company and a grant of $45,000 by the
Duke Endowment made possible the
purchase of the Leaksville Hospital and
its conversion to a publicly-owned com
munity hospital.
It was soon apparent that the build
ing and facilities were no longer ade
quate for the communities’ needs. In
vestigations showed that modernization
of or addition to the building was im
practical and that a new hospital would
be required.
In July, 1957, the trustees authorized
a campaign to raise $500,000 toward
the cost of a new hospital. This amount
of money, together with available state
and federal funds would make possi
ble the building of a 100-bed hospital.
The fund-raising campaign was start
ed September 1, 1957, and at the final
report meeting October 8, 1957, it was
reported that $550,571 had been pledged.
Since this amount was more than enough
to assure the matching by state and
federal funds, an architect was secured
and work was started immediately to
plan the new hospital. Building opera
tions were started on August 4, 1958,
on a choice 20-acre site in the Central
Area donated by the Spray Water Power
& Land Co. The building was com
pleted April 15, 1960.
Funds From Many Sources
Funds for the project came from the
following sources; $801,200 from the
U. S. Public Health Service under reg
ulations of the Hill-Burton Act; $213,-
500 from the North Carolina Medical
Care Commission; $432,000 from Tri-
City individuals, groups and organiza
tions; $100,000 from Fieldcrest Mills,
Inc.; $100,000 from John Motley More
head; $50,000 from the Duke Endow
ment; $11,000 in interest on pledges.
The gift by Mr. Morehead assured
the addition of a fourth floor and ex
pansion of the hospital to 112 beds.
The trustees later named the hospital
in honor of Mr. Morehead’s ancestors.
The $50,000 grant announced by the
Duke Endowment in April made a total
of $95,000 received from this source.
The latest grant consisted of $25,000
(Continued on page eight)