Our Mission

The McDowell Hospital mission is to serve the healthcare needs of our community, giving comprehensive, cost-effective, quality care without regard to race, color, creed or ability to pay.

Our Vision

To be the healthcare choice for all people in our community. 

History:

Incorporated as a North Carolina nonprofit corporation on October 20, 1927, McDowell Hospital, formerly known as Marion General Hospital, owns and operates a licensed 65-bed general acute care facility located at 430 Rankin Drive in Marion.

The present facility is the sixth to serve the people of McDowell County since the early part of the last century. The county's first hospital was opened in 1908 by Dr. Gaston Bailey Justice. The facility served the community for about one year. Dr. Guy Kirby opened the second hospital in 1917, which remained in operation about three years. The third venture, undertaken by Dr. J.F. Miller in 1924, was incorporated as Marion General three years later. The first structure specifically designed to serve as a hospital opened in 1930 on James Drive in downtown Marion. This facility served the community for the next 22 years. Healthcare needs had outgrown facility potential in the late forties, prompting construction of a new 50-bed hospital, built with the aid of Hill-Burton and Duke Endowment funds.

This facility opened to the public in May 1952 on three and one-half acres on Fleming Avenue.  In 1977, the decision was made to add 12 beds, bringing the total available beds to 62. A nurse's residence was opened adjacent to the hospital in 1953, which served for many years as a residence for female employees.

A new facility, the current site of McDowell Hospital, was completed in late 1983, housing 65 beds in private rooms. Located on a 50-acre tract just outside the city limits, the hospital was designed for maximum efficiency and ease of expansion as future needs demanded.

Since then, expansions have included construction of the Health Plus Rural Health Clinic, creation of the county’s first fixed-based MRI facility, Emergency Department expansion, development of a cancer center, new physician practices in Glenwood, Marion, Nebo and Old Fort, and more. ¨ ¨

After a long process of negotiation and due diligence, McDowell Hospital officially became a Mission Health system hospital in August 2004.  Under the leadership of a locally comprised board and with oversight from Mission Health, this partnership brought expanded resources, educational opportunities, shared services and greater financial stability.