Our History

Walker Memorial Hospital, once located on the beautiful shores of Lake Lillian in Avon Park, first opened its doors on January 6, 1948. The first patients were housed in a Spanish-style building that was once the Highlands Lake Hotel, built during the "Roaring 20's". Along with the hotel were an 18-hole golf course and a casino, built on the west side of the lake. This was a winter home to the wealthy, and many renowned guests were entertained there, including Sinclair Lewis. Delicious food, excellent service, and a wonderful atmosphere were common.

The hotel was forced out of business during the Depression, and it was purchased by Helen G. Randall, a self-proclaimed "doctor." in 1936. She had plans to make Avon Park the ideal health resort in the nation, but she was discovered to be a fraud and her plans never materialized.

The hotel stood vacant until the US Government purchased the hotel and converted it into a military training center during World War II. Renamed Lodwick Aviation Military Academy, the hotel was used as barracks for cadets training as United States Air Force Pilots.

After World War II, the residents of Highlands County felt that a hospital was desperately needed, but the County Commission had no money available, and they opposed a tax levy to purchase the hotel property for a hospital site.

In 1946, a meeting was arranged between interested community leaders and representatives from the Seventh-day Adventist Church to discuss plans for a medical facility in Avon Park. An agreement was reached, and plans were made to convert Highlands Lake Hotel into a hospital.

The property was purchased in June of 1947 by the Florida Sanitarium and Benevolent Association, a subsidiary of the church at a 100% discount. This gift from the government was made with the provision that $150,000 toward the conversion of the hotel to a hospital would be raised by October 1, 1947. The Adventist church promised the balance of the $400,000 necessary to complete the project. The Ridge Area Hospital Association was formed, and more than 300 members began calling on businesses and individuals, presenting the hospital proposal and need for donations.

Charles Walker, the president and general campaign chairman of the RAHA, was a well-known and highly admired community leader. He was extremely instrumental in the success of the hospital project. Only days after the government deadline of October 1, Walker died of a heart attack at his home. The name Walker Memorial Sanitarium and Hospital was chosen to honor Walker, who had been such a prominent leader in the establishment of the hospital. Later, the name was shortened to Walker Memorial Hospital.

On January 6, 1948, approximately 5,000 people gathered to witness the dedication of the hospital. Senator Claude Pepper delivered the principle address and many other dignitaries were in attendance. E.F. Hackman, president of the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, presided over the ceremony.

Workers pitched in and helped get the place ready for occupancy--cleaning and waxing floors, straightening up the grounds, and anything else that needed done. They all ate together in one large room in the basement for 50 cents each meal. Many of these workers lived in the old barracks building just north of the hospital. Their family spirit and teamwork went a long way to getting things going in the early days.

For a few years the hospital attracted a small clientele who paid $9 a day for a room, meals and one hydrotherapy treatment. Advances in medicine and science soon transformed the facility from a resort-style environment to an acute-care general hospital. By 1973, renovations has almost completely replaced the original resort hotel.

The hospital grew over the years to serve the crowning community, adding a satellite facility in Lake Placid in 1982 and another in Wauchula in 1992. Meanwhile, the building in Avon Park was aging and in need of major repairs. It was decided that the building needed to be replaced. In 1997, the new 109-bed Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center was opened. Since then, patient demand has dictated several construction projects, with additions to our inpatient capacity (currently 159 beds), and renovations to our emergency department and outpatient diagnostic departments.

There have been eigth different Administrators since the hospital first opened:

1. Marvin Baldwin (1947 - 1958)
2. A.L. Lynd (1958 - 1965)
3. George Walper (1965 - 1971)
4. John McClellan (1971 - 1979)
5. William Sager (1979 - 1991)
6. Samuel Leonor (1991 - 1998)
7. John Harding (1998 - 2007)
8. Tim Cook (2007 – present)