Founded in 1941 as Orlando Osteopathic Hospital, Orlando General Hospital was once a 15-bed facility that was a large, converted house located at 603 East Hillcrest Street. This is an image of the house circa 1940.
Photograph by W French
The Lake Underhill Road facility opened on October 1, 1961, with 50 beds.
Photograph by Tim Orwick. Orwick.com
The unfinished parking lot and driveway indicate that these photos were taken circa October 1, 1961.
Photograph by Tim Orwick. Orwick.com
In 1990, Orlando General Hospital was acquired by Adventist Health System and is now Florida Hospital East Orlando, which currently has 265 beds.
Featured Image: Members of the Orlando General Hospital Guild busy making costumes and decorations to be used at the Benefit Ball, November 11, 1961.
L to R: Mrs. Hurd (Chairman of Entertainment and Decorations), Mrs. Cox, Mrs. Beckwith and Mrs. McIntosh.
Photograph by Tim Orwick.
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603 Hillcrest Street
Current photo of the house at 603 Hillcrest Street which was the first location of Orlando General Hospital.
Orlando General Hospital circa 1961
Orlando General Hospital circa 1961. Photograph by Tim Orwick. Orwick.com
Orlando General Hospital circa 1961
The unfinished parking lot and drive way indicate that these photos were taken circa October 1, 1961. Photograph by Tim Orwick. Orwick.com
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I believe I was born there April 1961. Mother always said “You were born at the Osteopathic Hospital”. Is this the same pictured here? Thanks very much.
Greetings Vikki! Thank you for visiting Orlando Memory and leaving a comment! According to the information we found when creating this post, the original facility was still in use in April 1961. I would suggest looking at your birth certificate as it may contain information on exactly where you were born. We hope you will find other posts on Orlando Memory and continue to share your comments with us all! THE ORLANDO MEMORY TEAM
Dr Strickland delivered my son Eric McGee on Oct. 14, 1070. I worked at Orlando Mfg. & Upholstery. It was torn down when NCNB Bank Hgq. was built in the 1980’s, now Bank of America. Furniture plant made new furniture and owned by Robert Cannon. My supervisor was Ken Cannon and had another brother named Dave. Does anyone know them or remember the furniture plant. It was beside an elementary school and behind a Chevrolet dealership close to downtown in what used to be an ice plant in an earlier time.
Greetings Samuel! Thank you for visiting the Orlando General Hospital post on Orlando Memory. If you have a little more information on the town where the furniture plant was located and what years you were there, we can probably find it in one of our City Directories. THE ORLANDO MEMORY TEAM
Is there any record of when the first Osteopathic family medicine residency began at Orlando Regional?
Greetings Jennifer! Thank you for visiting the Orlando Memory post on Orlando General Hospital. We do not have access to the records of the hospital. We have newspapers from 1941-present, but we have no idea if articles would mention the Osteopathic Family Medicine residency. Advertisements in city directories might some information but that is not a guarantee. We hope someone will be able to answer your question. THE ORLANDO MEMORY TEAM
My daughter was born there, on August 1, 1978. My Physician was Dr. J.
Hynick, DO. He was the kindest and nicest man. Does anyone know if he is still practicing in Orlando? I live in Vero Beach, FL
Greetings Mary! Thank you for visiting Orlando Memory and sharing your memories of Dr. Hynick. We are not sure if this is the same doctor, but there is a doctor by that name still in practice in Longwood, Florida. https://www.md.com/doctor/james-hynick-do We hope you will find additional posts on OrlandoMemory.info that bring back fond memories! THE ORLANDO MEMORY TEAM
I am purchasing 603 E Hillcrest (old Orlando General) and restoring it to the original single family Dr Dann built. Would love to see any pictures or info on the property
Greetings Mark! We just thought of another possibility for construction information. You could submit a records request to the building permit office and ask for copies of the original blueprints submitted with the construction permit in 1940. If they still exist, they could provide valuable information on original structure. THE ORLANDO MEMORY TEAM
Greetings Mark! You can search occompt.com (Orange County Comptroller) and use ORLANDO OSTEOPATHIC HOSPITAL as name of either party to find a few deeds. You can search the Orange County Property Appraiser’s site with the property address and click on the link for PLAT on the top menu and view the plat map from 1912, 1918 and present day. There is a possibility that news stories exist when the original facility opened in 1941 and when it became Orlando General Hospital on microfilm here at the downtown Orlando Public Library, but there is no indexing available. It is possible that images of the outside of the building may have been in city directories that are also on the 4th floor of the Orlando Public Library. Be sure to search Orlando Memory for the owners’ names, as they may be mentioned in Orlando Memory. We hope you find what you are looking for. THE ORLANDO MEMORY TEAM
Does any remember the name of the OBGYN Dr and its not Felski around 1990-1991 had dark hair and an accent. Very nice. I can not remember his name. He delivered my daughter when Dr Felski said there was no way I was pregnant after being on fertility medication. I worked for Orlando General/ Fla Hospital Orlando General. thank you if anyone has his name.
Greetings Cathy! We have telephone directories and city directories here at the downtown Orlando Public Library. If you have a little more information on his office address in 1990, we might be able to look up the OB/GYN office address and see which doctors are listed. THE ORLANDO MEMORY TEAM
I grew up on the East Side, my dad worked part time in the lab back in the 70’s. One of my twins broke his femur and was in traction for roughly 7 weeks around 1978 . His nurses were a young lady Nancy and a little older nurse I think her name or nick name was Dingy. If someone knows of them please let me know. I would love to reach out.
Greetings Sharon! We hope someone remembers and can help you out. Thanks for visiting Orlando Memory. We hope you will continue to share your memories with us. THE ORLANDO MEMORY TEAM
Does anyone remember nurse Hall circa 1975. She helped my wife through a difficult labor. Dr. Lapp was our doctor as well. Great doctor!
I was born there October 1954 at least that’s what my birth certificate says
I really don’t remember much about it
Greetings Mr. Browning! That is so cool that you were born at the old Orlando General Hospital! We hope you find other posts on Orlando Memory that will inspire you to share more of your memories with everyone! THE ORLANDO MEMORY TEAM
My son was born there on Labor Day , 1970 and it was then, I thought , a 25 bed facility. I am amazed to see how large it is now . Great little hospital back then.Dr. Richard Lapp, D.O. was my obgyn. Great doctor. I would love to go back and visit sometime.
Just saw your comment. My son was also born there in September 1973. Dr. Richard Lapp was.also my doctor. He was a kind and caring doctor.
Oh, my both my kids were born there and Dr. Lapp delivered them as well.
I worked at Orlando general hospital in 1974-1978 it was my first healthcare job I was a orderly/cna
Mrs. Wilcox hired me she was the DON at the time.
Wayne Scott
I now live in Philadelphia Pa. and work at Moss Rehab and am a Health Unit Coordinator.
Hi Do you remember my mom, RN Kay Crume. She was the 3-11 night shift supervisor