Burrus Memorial Hospital
The 1930's After enduring the Great Depression,
High Point Hospital endured another change of ownership.
In 1933, with help from The Duke Endowment, the Hospital
became a community hospital with a self-perpetuating
board
of trustees. Although it was no longer owned by Dr. John
Burrus, the Hospital bore his name, Burrus Memorial
Hospital, in honor of Dr. Burrus’ parents.
About the same time, the Nursing School became state approved.
By the mid-30s, the Hospital had a physician in charge
of
radiology, a registered nurse in the emergency room, two
laboratory technicians, a secretary to type patient histories
and a dietitian. And sadly, in 1936, Dr. Burrus died.
Guilford General
Hospital
High Point Hospitals Merge
1940's As early as 1943, a
planning and building committee began to study hospital needs
in High Point while developing means of securing financial
support.
In late 1943, the board of trustees decided to change the
Hospital’s name. This time the name was High Point
Memorial Hospital.
A new name was not the only change in store for High Point
Memorial Hospital. In 1944, High Point’s two hospitals
– and their medical staffs – merged. For nearly
30 years, High Point had two hospitals – the old
Junior Order Hospital and Guilford General Hospital, which
had opened in 1912 in a renovated house at the corner of
Washington and Steel Streets. Until the merger of the two
facilities,
the medical staffs had not worked together.
"We now have a more cohesive body of medical men than
ever before," Dr. Brockmann said in 1944. The new High
Point Memorial Hospital had a Boulevard unit (Burrus Memorial)
and a Washington Street unit (Guilford General). Patients
had a choice of where to be admitted.
