BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — It was about four or five years ago, said the Blount Memorial Hospital CEO, Dr. Harold Naramore. He had an early morning meeting. As he was going up an elevator he noticed something odd — a nurse had a large bag of food.
He said he wondered what was going on and asked if there was some sort of party, at 6:30 a.m. The nurse said there wasn't any such celebration, and went on to explain that they had a patient who didn't have food and the staff came together to help out.
"That's the kind of people we have here," Namamore said.
The Blount Memorial Hospital celebrated its 75th anniversary on Friday as a milestone for its long-term care in the community. The event featured speeches from Dr. Naramore, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jane Souther, Mayo Clinic Care Network physician Dr. Ryan Uitti, and keynote speaker Congressman Tim Burchett.
It was July 24, 1947, when the Hospital opened to the public with just 50 beds. Since then, the hospital kept developing as the need for outpatient and wellness services peaked in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The capacity grew to more than 300 beds.
During the last couple of years, the hospital again became a pillar for the community as they struggled with the pandemic. They set a tent up and were the first in East Tennessee who provided COVID-19 tests.
"We probably fit over pushing 71,000 COVID tests at this point," Naramore said. "We were very innovative in that we had a tent just up the street. So, we ran it seven days a week, 12 hours a day to do antibody treatments."
As for the next years, Naramore said he hopes for the evolution of technology to continue and allow for more innovative things in medicine.
"One of the things that are clearly happening in medicine now is going to be shorter hospitalizations," he said. "You're gonna see patients come into the hospital for much shorter lengths of time, but they're still going to have really good care and transitions to home."