History
The District One Tuberculosis Sanatorium located in Madisonville opened in late September of 1950. It was situated on 31 acres of land in the northeast Madisonville area. Each of the Tuberculosis Hospitals accommodated one hundred patients in a four-story structure. Each of the hospitals contained five buildings on the land. In Madisonville, there were three buildings about 200 yards southward, in addition to the main hospital and residences for medical staff. A 23-room dormitory for nurses was situated about 50 yards northeast to the main hospital building.
District One Counties
- Ballard
- Caldwell
- Calloway
- Carlisle
- Christian
- Crittenden
- Daviess
- Fulton
- Graves
- Henderson
- Hickman
- Hopkins
- Livingston
- Lyon
- Marshall
- McLean
- McCracken
- Muhlenberg
- Todd
- Trigg
- Union
- Webster
Sanatorium Design
Note: Each of the five “new” hospitals shared the same design and layout.
The main hospital buildings were noted as being an “off-center T” and upon entering the main entrance, a patient or visitor would emerge into the admittance room or the outpatient clinic where all new patients are registered. This room had yellow-glazed tile walls, linoleum tile floor, and a noiseless celotex ceiling. A plaque hanging on the wall revealed site selection date.
The first floor, in addition to the aforementioned areas, included an X-Ray reading and record room, gown and wash rooms, treatment room, utility rooms, combination beauty parlor and barber shop, storage rooms, X-Ray and developing room, two dining rooms for personnel (one finished in pink and one in blue), a large ultra-modern kitchen, and numerous other rooms. General offices were located in the main hospital’s second floor, including administrative offices. Patients rooms were located on the second, third, and fourth floors. There were two-bed and four-bed wards with no private rooms. Each of the floors containing patients had a registered nurse on duty at all times. Waiting rooms for visitors were located at the half-way point on the floors. Minors were not allowed at any time, even with adults. Each floor also contained a service-kitchen, dining room for patients, and a dining room for hospital personnel all decorated in pastel shades. Each floor also contained a drug store and fluorescent lighting.
The operating room had the latest equipment and a dental clinical was located on the third floor. The patients rooms were decorated in shades of golden buff, light rose and pastel blue. The northern end of each floor contained a solarium with yellow leatherette chaise lounges. The eight-room home for the medical director is beautifully decorated and completely equipped from the playroom basement all the way to the second floor.
Image Gallery
Contributed by Shawn Logan | contact@kyhi.org
⁘ Works Cited ⁘
- The Lexington Leader, 9 December 1949
- The Lexington Leader, 12 December 1952
- The Messenger (Madisonville, Kentucky), 27 September 1950, pp. 8-24.
- United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, and Jenna Stout. “National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form .” National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form , Kentucky, 2016, pp. 1–18.
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