Founded in 1961, Carroll Hospital Center is a branch of Lifebridge Health located in

Westminster, Maryland Westminster is a city in and the county seat of Carroll County, Maryland, United States. The city's population was 19,960 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Westminster is an outlying community in the Baltimore metropolitan area, whic ...

. Carroll Hospital offers comprehensive medical care, with specialties including minimally invasive surgery and a state-of-the-art cancer center.

History

Opened on October 1, 1961, Carrol County General Hospital, originally planned by local citizens in 1957, was a hospital with only 50 beds and a total of 125 employees. By the late 1960s, medical needs had increased in the community and the hospital added a North wing and a West wing.

Expansion and renovations

Before 1980, another expansion added three more floors to both wings. The 159-bed facility also housed services such as

Physical Therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

. The Emergency Department, X-ray Department, and Laboratory were expanded as well. Carroll County General Hospital was awarded its first two-year accreditation by

JCAHO The Joint Commission is a United States-based nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c) organization that accredits more than 22,000 US health care organizations and programs. The international branch accredits medical services from around the world. A majori ...

(now Joint Commission) in 1981. Throughout the decade, the hospital upgraded many services, including

CT scan A computed tomography scan (CT scan), formerly called computed axial tomography scan (CAT scan), is a medical imaging technique used to obtain detailed internal images of the body. The personnel that perform CT scans are called radiographers or ...

s, pediatrics, and minimally invasive surgical techniques (

arthroscopy Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the j ...

laparoscopy Laparoscopy () is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis using small incisions (usually 0.5–1.5 cm) with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic interventions with a few small cuts in the abdomen.Medli ...

). In 1995, amidst a very large population growth in Carroll County, the hospital added a Psychiatric unit,

Angiography Angiography or arteriography is a medical imaging technique used to visualize the inside, or lumen, of blood vessels and organs of the body, with particular interest in the arteries, veins, and the heart chambers. Modern angiography is perfo ...

Lab, larger Emergency Department, Sleep Lab, and

Oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's Etymology, etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγ ...

. The Family Birthplace opened in 1996 and hosted 20 private suites. It provided patients with labor and delivery services, as well as recovery and post-partum services. The Richard N. Dixon Surgery Center opened in 1997 providing the community with outpatient surgeries—the first facility of its kind in the county. The Women's Place opened in 1999 with a focus on the wellness of women. The largest expansions occurred during the 2000 millennium. Carroll County General Hospital changed its name to Carroll Hospital in 2003, and, in December of that year, Carroll Hospital Center opened a . new Emergency Department. By 2004, a South tower was opened, this one was 5 stories tall with 24 privatized rooms for patients on each floor. The original Emergency Department was then renovated for Outpatient Services and opened in 2005 for diabetes, hyperbaric sessions, and wound care treatments. Cardiac Rehab was also moved to Outpatient Services. A renovated Operating Room opened in 2007, along with an inpatient hospice facility named Dove House which houses the Carroll Homecare and Carroll Hospice departments. During the summer of 2011, Carroll Hospital acquired the Carroll Regional Cancer Center which had previously been owned by U.S. Oncology. In February 2013, construction began on a new wellness center. Upon completion in 2014, The William E. Kahlert Regional Cancer Center and Tevis Center for Wellness will be the new home for the Carroll Regional Cancer Center.

Merger with Lifebridge Health

Carroll Hospital Center announced, on November 6, 2014, that it intended to partner with LifeBridge Health of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. On April 1, 2015 Carroll Hospital officially became a subsidiary of the Life Bridge Health organization, making it the third hospital in the healthcare system.

References

{{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1993 Buildings and structures in Carroll County, Maryland Hospitals in Maryland Westminster, Maryland