Celebrate the History of Broward County’s First Healthcare System

Broward Population: 39,800

With the start of WWII, Florida became a major training ground for American GIs. Many hotels were converted to military barracks and make-shift hospitals. During the war, Port Everglades was a military base for the U.S. Navy.

A group of local women volunteers founded the Broward General Hospital Auxiliary. The organization went on to fund major capital improvement projects, including heart surgery equipment, a chapel, and one of the nation's first radiation cancer treatment centers.

Broward General was the first hospital in Broward County to offer a dedicated pediatric unit.

Broward Population: 84,000

Medical advancements of the 1950s included the polio vaccine and the synthesis and mass production of penicillin, which is considered one of the most important medications of all time.

Broward General received a mechanical respirator called the Iron Lung used to assist patient breathing.

Responding to the county's exponential population growth, the hospital district broke ground on North Broward Hospital on November 25. The Deerfield Beach hospital is known today as Broward Health North.

Broward Population: 334,000

In 1965, the Surgeon General determined that smoking was a health hazard. During that time, nearly half of Americans were regular smokers.

North Broward Hospital admitted its first patient in March. The hospital had only three floors when it opened its doors. Three years later, four additional floors were added.

Following the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Broward General began desegregation and welcomed its first Black patients

Broward Population: 620,000

A turbulent decade, the 1970s were marked by the Vietnam War, Watergate and the final Beatles album that offered “Let It Be.”

Imperial Point Medical Center opened as a 204-bed community hospital on 22 acres of land in Fort Lauderdale. It is now called Broward Health Imperial Point.

Broward County's first Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) opened at Broward General.

Broward Population: 1,018,000

During the 1980s, the Berlin Wall crumbled, new computer technologies emerged and blockbuster movies and MTV reshaped pop culture and revolutionized the music industry.

In response to the emerging HIV/AIDS epidemic, the district became the first health system in Broward County to offer a complete network of HIV/AIDS outpatient services.

Coral Springs Medical Center, now known as Broward Health Coral Springs, opened in March to meet the healthcare needs of western Broward County's expanding population. The hospital's first baby was born a few days later.

Broward Population: 1,255,500

In the 1990s, the internet was born, prompting unprecedented growth in communication and education, forever changing how all populations and industries would communicate.

Chris Evert Children's Hospital opened, offering a full-service pediatric hospital within Broward General.

The Broward Health Foundation was established, raising funds to provide resources to promote, support, and enhance the programs and initiatives of Broward Health.

Broward Population: 1,623,000

The September 11, 2001, coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States led to increased expressions of patriotism and demands for heightened national security.

The Lisa Boccard Breast Cancer fund was established at Coral Springs Medical Center to provide free mammograms to women in financial need.

A $150 million atrium expansion added 485,000 square feet to Broward General, providing space for a new ER and critical care areas.

Broward Population: 1,753,000

In 2010, an earthquake struck Haiti, killing 200,000 and injuring 300,000. The U.S. military evacuated hundreds of patients to South Florida hospitals while Broward Health medical staff were flown to Haiti to care for patients on site.

The Broward Health International program opened with the first emergency air evacuation.

The South Tower expansion at Broward Health Coral Springs opened with all private suites for labor & delivery, mother/baby, NICU and surgical patients. The expansion increased bed capacity from 196 to 250.

Broward Population: 1,966,000

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 mandated wearing face masks, quarantining and social distancing. Entire countries shut down and implemented lockdowns with only essential services in operation.

A $52 million NICU expansion was completed at Broward Health Medical Center. It included 70 private units where families can stay overnight with their newborn babies.

The system erected a vaccination site at Inter Miami CF Stadium and gave more than 110,000 COVID-19 vaccinations to employees, medical staff and the community.