Newspaper Page Text
Page 8A
LOCAL
The Champion, Thursday, June 11 - 17, 2015
Dr. Wood W. Lovell, right, medical director of Scottish Rite Hospital, addresses the 1976 groundbreaking
ceremony as Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital moved from Decatur to north Atlanta.
Fundraising efforts in 1913 for the establishment of a children’s hospital
included selling pencils. Pictured below are leather braces used at Scot
tish Rite in the early years to help young patients walk.
Century-long children’s healthcare
journey started in Decatur
by Kathy Mitchell
At the beginning of the
20th century, approximately
10 percent of the children
born in the United States
died before their first birth
day, according to the Cen
ters for Disease Control and
Prevention. Those who sur
vived often didn’t receive the
specialized care they needed
to avoid disabling disabili
ties and illnesses.
Georgia resident Bertie
Wardlaw was inspired to
help improve that situation
in 1913 after orthopedic
surgeon Michael Hoke
cured her nephew of a se
rious bone infection. She
launched a campaign to
raise money for a childrens
hospital.
The biggest donor
was the Scottish Rite Ma
sons; thus the hospital that
opened in 1915 was called
Scottish Rite Convalescent
Hospital for Crippled Chil
dren. Hoke donated his
services as the healthcare
facility opened in Decatur in
two rented cottages with 20
patient beds.
From that humble start,
one of the largest childrens
healthcare systems in the
United States—Childrens
Healthcare of Atlanta, which
now includes Scottish Rite
Hospital, Egleston Childrens
Hospital and Hughes Spald
ing Childrens Hospital—was
born, but the path to success
wasn’t a smooth one. Fund
raisers from pencil sales to
concerts to screening of a
Charlie Chaplin movie to
football games to Christmas
tree exhibits would keep
the hospitals open over the
years.
“Community support
was a key from the very
beginning,” said Shelton
Stevens, the senior devel
opment officer/executive
director, Sports Network
at Children’s Healthcare of
Atlanta. “We treated every
child even when the family
had no money. So funds had
to come from foundations,
clubs, companies, individu
als—the community.
“In 1933, the nation was
in the middle of the Great
Depression. Money was
hard to come by and Scot
tish Rite was in danger of
closing its doors. Someone
had the idea of holding a
Thanksgiving Day football
game fundraiser between
Georgia Tech freshmen
and University of Georgia
freshmen. They had no idea
whether people would come.
But it was a great success
and became a tradition. I
think people came out be
cause they didn’t want the
hospital to close,” Stevens
said.
In 1928, another non
profit children’s hospital—
Henrietta Egleston Chil
dren’s Hospital—opened in
Atlanta. In 1956, Egleston
became the pediatric teach
ing affiliate for Emory Uni
versity Hospital.
“One of the proudest
moments in our history
came in 1998 when Egleston
Children’s Health Care Sys
tem and Scottish Rite Medi
cal Center came together to
form Children’s Healthcare
of Atlanta—one of the larg
est pediatric systems in the
country. Each hospital had
its own history and culture,
but that didn’t make either
unwilling to combine their
resources for the benefit of
the children,” Stevens said.
The name Children’s
Healthcare of Atlanta was
unveiled in 1999, along with
a logo featuring children to
be known as Hope and Will.
Hughes Spalding Pavil-
See Healthcare on page 16A
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
GEORGIA, DEKALB COUNTY
A petition has been filed with the Board of Commissioners of DeKalb County, Georgia,
for the construction of a sewer infrastructure in Land Lot(s) 375 of the 18 th District of
DeKalb County, Georgia, description of which is as follows:
Sewer Main shall run along Carnaby Court and Yarmouth Court and impact
properties located at 1471,1472,1475,1478,1479,1487,1492,1495,1502,
1503,1511,1512,1519,1520 Carnaby Court, and 5240, 5241 and 5244
Yarmouth Court.
Same to be constructed and the costs assessed against the abutting property. Said
Petition has been set for hearing before the Board of Commissioners at 9:00 a.m. on
Tuesday, August 11, 2015 in the Auditorium of the DeKalb County Maloof Center, 1300
Commerce Drive, Decatur, Georgia.
All persons, whose interests are affected by the proposed sewer, desiring to be heard,
are hereby notified to appear in person or by attorney at said time and place and
present such objection or evidence therein as their interests require.