FAYETTEVILLE – Calling all local historians and antique collectors!
Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation is seeking artifacts and stories from area resident to help preserve and display the storied history of Highsmith-Rainey Specialty Hospital.
Donated artifacts and stories will be exhibited in the hospital’s first-floor alcove. The area will allow patients and guests to easily get a glimpse into the nearly 120-year-old hospital’s past.
Opened in 1901, the original Highsmith Hospital was established in downtown Fayetteville by Dr. Jacob Franklin Highsmith as the state’s first private hospital. It later grew into one of the region’s leading medical facilities with the help of Dr. William Thomas Rainey.
In 1983, the new Highsmith-Rainey Memorial Hospital opened at its current location on Robeson Street. In 2004, the facility became a long-term acute care hospital for the very sick and patients requiring longer treatment stays.
The Health Foundation wants to prominently display the proud history and is working to create a professional display area near the hospital’s elevator area.
“We want to make sure we’re not missing anything,” said Sabrina Brooks, Foundation Director. “We want to reach out to the public, to let them know this effort is underway.”
The Health Foundation hopes to have the display by May 2019. To donate or learn more about the project, contact the foundation at (910) 615-1285.