In 1913, Dr. Robert T. Boals built a hospital to aid his own growing practice in Tillamook, Oregon. The Boals Hospital later became the Charleton Hospital when Dr. Max Charleton bought it. In 1942, hospital administration decided to close the hospital on January 1, 1943. Faced with the possibility of no medical facility in the county, Tillamook County commissioners opted to buy the hospital and assume operation responsibilities. By the late 1940s, 45 beds were in use at the hospital although its actual capacity was only 35 beds. The hospital board applied for federal funds to build a new, larger hospital and in 1950, the Tillamook County General Hospital was constructed at a cost of $1,175,000. Over the next 25 years, the hospital slowly began to decline and on August 13, 1973, Tillamook County signed a long-term management lease with Northwest Medical Foundation of Tillamook, a non-profit healthcare corporation affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church and owned by Adventist Health. In 1975, county residents approved a bond issue allowing a $2.4 million hospital renovation to begin in collaboration with federal funding. In January 1980, Northwest Medical Foundation of Tillamook merged with Adventist Health, and cooperation with Tillamook County continues, with the current lease expiring in 2045. In September 1996, voters of Tillamook County overwhelmingly approved a $10 million bond levy to upgrade and renovate TCGH. The project, completed in the fall of 2000, added to the existing building and renovated approximately. Improvements were made in a number of departments including Emergency, Surgery, Recovery, Outpatient Program, Laboratory and a Birthing Center. Other areas of improvement included replacement of plumbing and electrical, additional air conditioning, increased capacity of emergency generator, expanded fire alarm system and upgrading of the building to meet current earthquake standards. TCGH built five hospital-based rural health clinics between 2009 and 2013 in Manzanita, Pacific City, Lincoln City, and Tillamook, with the Tillamook Medical Plaza being completed in 2013. Coinciding with the completion of the Tillamook Medical Plaza, TCGH rebranded to become Tillamook Regional Medical Center, reflecting a broader area of service than simply Tillamook County. However, much of the revenue from healthcare and purchases stays in Tillamook County, with around $29 million in payroll annually benefitting the local economy.
Awards
Adventist Health Tillamook was named to the 2013 HomeCare Elite list, compiled by Outcome Concept Systems, Inc., a Seattle-based company. This listing honors the top 25 percent of home health care agencies in their region based upon quality of care, quality improvement and financial performance.
