Once uncertain of its future, Beacham Memorial Hospital staff, city and county leaders and many local citizens gathered Friday night to celebrate the “reinvention” and “rebirth” of the hospital.
It marked a party for the community the hospital takes care of, one careful not to forget those who do the caring.
Former and current board members were honored, as were those who have played a part in the hospital’s turnaround.
In the spotlight was longtime Magnolia physician and Beacham board member Dr. Harry Frye, who has been honored by having the buildings known as the Frye Medical Campus.
Board chairman Dr. Luke Lampton and board member Jim McElwee spoke about the history of Beacham hospital.
The facility has had several saviors, Lampton said.
On life support in the 1980s, Pike County District 2 Supervisor Doyle Forman fought long odds to get the hospital a fresh infusion of cash.
“Like today, we had to find a way to reinvent ourselves then,” Lampton said.
Forman’s efforts resulted in a much-needed federal grant of $400,000.
“If the county couldn’t do it, my district can,” Lampton noted Forman saying.
To acknowledge Forman’s contribution, the hospital board will offer future scholarships in his name.
“It may take us a year or two to see the first scholarship given, but we hope to train local students here,” Lampton said.
He noted that the former business office at the corner of Myrtle and Cherry streets being retrofitted as the new medical education center. It will allow housing for visiting medical students “wherever they come from,” Lampton said. It will be renamed the Geller House in honor of the contributions of former hospital administrator Guy Geller.
But longtime family medical practitioner Frye got the lion’s share of attention, himself a lion of charity and principle, McElwee said.
“I’ll do my best here. He’s also my father-in-law you know,” McElwee said as he fought back tears.
Frye entered the medical field after seeing the state of child care up close in the 1950s.
“Dr. Frye had polio. He was put in the child unit of the hospital,” McElwee said. “The lack of medical care given to children and family stuck with him. That’s when he decided to devote his life to family medicine.”
Frye came to Magnolia to establish a medical practice and built a strong reputation. Since 1952, he has practiced at Beacham. His philosophy of medicine, McElwee said, is “be there; just be there.
Unexpectedly, Dr. Frye walked to the podium to respond to McElwee and the crowd.
“The older I get the easier it is to accept criticism, but it’s harder to accept this praise. This afternoon, I’m absolutely speechless,” Frye said.
The evening also marked the completion of several renovation projects that are part of a larger overhaul of the hospital.
Renovations were financed through a $1.5 million loan with the Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation of New Orleans.
Beacham is now managed by Freedom Healthcare, which gave tours of the hospital during open house.
New brickwork, a circular driveway and landscaping present a welcoming foreground to the front of the hospital. In the foyer, there’s a glass case with hospital artifacts.
The hospital moved 13 acute-care beds to the north wing and converted the two south wings to an 18-bed geriatric-psychiatric unit.
History now lines the hallways of Beacham. Front page news stories forming a mural line the hallway heading north toward the nurses’ station. Headed south toward radiology, upbeat and positive quotations are posted on shiny, freshly painted walls.
Those attending the festivities were treated to fried catfish prepared by Smithie Buie and blues music from Castro Coleman, also known as “Mr. Sipp.”
