HOSPITALS
MARTIN HEALTH SYSTEM Celebrates 75 years
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Treasure Coast Medical Report
A tragic accident prompted the need for the
creation of a hospital for Martin County
After three-quarters of a century of providing health
care and service to the community, Martin Health
System is quietly celebrating its accomplishments.
A fatal accident at the Hobe Sound Co. was the
impetus for the construction of the original Martin County
Hospital, a project that began exactly 75 years ago. A painter,
George Farley, burned to death after a spark from a paint
sprayer caused a flash fire. (He died after being transported to
West Palm Beach.) Major C. D. S. Clarkson, general manager
of the company, was badly burned when he tried to rescue
Farley. He survived after being treated at the St. Lucie Sanitarium
in Stuart, but the need for a proper hospital in Martin
County was brought home to the residents of Jupiter Island.
William Barstow, a principal in the Hobe Sound Company,
and his wife, Francoise, were particularly concerned that their
black employees were not being served by the Sanitarium.
With the interest of the Barstows aroused, a new physician
in town, Dr. Van William Burns, took the lead in campaigning
for a new hospital. He secured the commitment of the Barstows
to pay for a hospital that Joseph Verner Reed, another
company principal, along with his mother, Mary Dean Reed,
would furnish.
Sen. Abram Kanner, Stuart’s city attorney, said there was
a city park that might provide the site. Burns appeared
before the City Commission on March 1, 1938, and got a
commitment. A seven-acre parcel on the St. Lucie River, set
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BY SANDRA THURLOW
MARTIN HEALTH SYSTEM
A crowd gathers as the Martin County Hospital is dedicated on March 8, 1939. Among the people on the platform are Francoise and William Barstow,
who gave the building and Mrs. Verner Z. Reed and her son, Joseph, who gave the equipment and furnishings.