HISTORY

Frankfort Regional Medical Center (FRMC) was formed in 1894, with fourteen women, known as the Silent Workers Circle of the King’s Daughters. These women visited homes and provided care to those in need. It was their mission not to be ministered unto, but to minister; therefore, charity care was delivered. In March of 1896, $350 was raised toward a building for the hospital. Finding a location for the hospital was difficult, because most of the citizens in Frankfort did not want a hospital in their neighborhood. However, the Silent Workers Circle did find a house to rent on East Main at only $10 per month. The house had no gas, water or sewage, but with the help of the owner, the women made it work.

On July 18, 1896, they opened a seven-bed hospital. The women performed all tasks in the hospital from buying groceries and supplies to housekeeping and linen. While operating, the group managed to accumulate $800 towards improvement and in 1904, the group bought a lot on East Main as a sight for a new hospital. At a cost of $9,000 a new 14-bed hospital was built. By 1924, the hospital expanded to 35 beds and a home had been built for the nurses. The hospital continued to thrive and by the late 1930’s, a need for an even larger facility was apparent. As a result, in 1938, a new facility was built on Third and Steele Streets where it served as a community hospital for 36 years, operating 112 beds. By 1974, the hospital had once again outgrown its building. Therefore, in the community’s interest of providing a larger and more advanced facility, the King’s Daughters gave their certificate of need to Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) and closed the hospital. This marked a great turning point in the history of Frankfort Regional Medical Center.

Hospital Corporation of America was founded on August 14, 1968, with the understanding that outstanding patient care and sound business management go band-in-hand. This was the philosophy of Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Sr. who, together with Dr. Tom Frist, Jr. and Jack Massey, a Nashville businessman, founded this for-profit corporation.  HCA used private capital to begin constructing the current facility almost immediately upon closing of the sale. HCA built a state of the art, 130-bed hospital and named it in memory of the King’s Daughters, hence King’s Daughters Memorial Hospital, which was the original name of the building. The 128,500 square foot facility opened July 9, 1974 at a cost of $7 million. The hospital was built and is currently located on the west side of Frankfort just off I-64.

In 1982, the hospital expanded to 154,000 square foot and was licensed to operate 186 beds. In November 1993, the hospital opened a new emergency room and outpatient services wing which brought the hospital total square footage to 157,138.

During the month of October 1993, it was announced that HCA was merging with Columbia Healthcare, which made Columbia the senior of the two corporations. Eight months later, the deal was finalized on June 6, 1994. A new direction and new name in healthcare emerged and King’s Daughters Memorial Hospital became Bluegrass Regional Medical Center. The strategy was designed to move the facility from a community hospital to a regional provider.

In July 1995, another change was made to the hospital - Bluegrass Regional Medical Center became Columbia Hospital Frankfort. This transpired in order to comply with Columbia/HCA’s vision to make the company name a brand name in healthcare. As a result, Columbia decided to bring its hospitals focus back to their communities by taking the Columbia name out of the hospital names and allowing the community to help name their hospital. After much consideration and input from the community, Columbia Hospital Frankfort’s name was changed to Frankfort Regional Medical Center in 1998.

Since the creation of the first seven-bed hospital in 1896, FRMC has expanded in many ways.  Expansions have been made to include an outpatient service area, mammography services, spine surgery, vascular lab (non-invasive), physical therapy, inpatient cardiac catheterization unit, sleep center, pulmonary rehabilitation unit, Surgery Center, Intensive Care Unit, MRI Center, Wound Care Center and a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit .  Currently, the facility contains 134 medical/surgical beds, eight ICU/CCU beds, 19 obstetrical beds, and a 20-bed nursery (including a 4-bed NICU).

Today, the hospital is licensed for 173 beds and operates on over 200,000 square feet.  It is conveniently located in Central Kentucky approximately 50 miles from Louisville and 30 miles from Lexington.

Frankfort Regional Medical Center has continually maintained its commitment to provide quality healthcare to Franklin, Anderson, Owen, Woodford, Shelby and surrounding county residents.  Frankfort Regional Medical Center is accredited by the Joint Commission and focuses on delivering the highest quality patient care possible.