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Jupiter Medical Center celebrated its 40th anniversary on February 14, in recognition of its historical transition from a small community hospital to an award-winning regional medical center. The celebration officially began on February 5, when the Town of Jupiter presented the hospital with a proclamation in recognition of its four decades of service.
When Jupiter Hospital, as it was known then, opened its doors in 1979, it was a small facility serving a town of less than 5,000 and providing care for approximately 1,800 patients annually. The medical center adopted a new name in 1993, transforming to “Jupiter Medical Center” to better reflect the breadth of the services it provides. Today, the not-for-profit medical center serves a town of approximately 62,000. It also attracts patients from across Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, as well as locales across the nation and around the globe, logging more than 180,000 outpatient visits and nearly 40,000 visits to the emergency department each year.
While Jupiter Medical Center was founded in 1979, the groundwork began long before, starting in the mid-1950s with the Salhaven retirement community, which occupied land that is now home to Jonathan’s Landing and the Jupiter Medical Center campus. In 1971, a consortium of doctors led by Dr. George Ford purchased the retirement community. They sold 600 acres east of the railroad to Alcoa for Jonathan’s Landing and donated the remaining 30 acres for a medical center.
Throughout its history, Jupiter Medical Center has continued to grow and expand—and that has never been more apparent than it is today. Last June the medical center completed an acute recovery unit for cardiac patients and officially launched its new Comprehensive Stroke Program in early January. The James J. Felcyn and Louise Brien Felcyn Observation Unit also opened in January, and the Timothy and Jayne Donahue Cardiac Surgery Program is expected to launch later this year. Meanwhile, construction is well underway on the Anderson Family Cancer Institute; the Mastroianni Family Pediatric Emergency Department; and a new five-story patient tower, which will include the Level II De George Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. All are expected to be completed later this year.
