LewisGale: A Century of Patient Care
The LewisGale name has been synonymous with high-quality healthcare in the Roanoke Valley for over a century. Beginning in 1909 with the opening of a 26-bed Lewis-Gale Hospital in Roanoke, partners Dr. Sparrell Gale and Dr. J.N. Lewis set in motion a tradition that continues today. That tradition includes an ongoing commitment to top-notch, compassionate patient care and to embracing the latest medical technology to achieve best patient outcomes.
Milestones in our history include:
- 1909 - Opening of the Lewis-Gale Hospital in downtown Roanoke, equipped with hot and cold running water, central radiant heat and an elevator
- 1911 – Lewis-Gale School of Nursing established
- 1914 – X-ray Department established
- 1917 – 24-hour Emergency Department opened
- 1919 – Radiology Department established
- 1930 – Orthopedic Department established
- 1938 – Hospital addition completed featuring first-of-its-kind central air-cleaning system to be installed in any hospital
- 1968 – Lewis-Gale joins the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA)
- 1972 – New Lewis-Gale Hospital facility opened in Salem
- 1985 – Lewis-Gale becomes first non-training hospital in the nation to purchase magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system
- 1991 – Open-heart surgery suite opened, with 185 procedures completed in the first year
- 1996 – Lewis-Gale Hospital merges with Lewis-Gale Psychiatric Center to form Lewis-Gale Medical Center
- 2009 – Lewis-Gale Medical Center becomes the hub of the LewisGale Regional Health System comprising four hospitals, six outpatient centers, two cancer centers and 700 physicians at more than 160 affiliated locations throughout southwest Virginia
Learn more about the history of these LewisGale facilities: