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History of Preston Memorial Hospital
Preston County needed a hospital by the beginning of the 1950’s so a group of community leaders worked together to put a plan before the County Court. The building was to be funded by a $1.5 million bond issue which the Court accepted in 1951. In June of 1952, a referendum on the bond issue resulted in a resounding approval from the voters, a margin of better than three to one. The Kingwood Volunteer Fire Department supplied the land for the building, the bonds were sold and construction began in November of 1953. The hospital was placed under the supervision of a Board of Trustees appointed by the County Court (now County Commission).

Preston Memorial Hospital (PMH) was designed by a famous hospital architect of the time, Robert Hilburton. The design is classic of the mid-1950 and resembles a number of other small hospitals built around the U.S. at the time.

In less than two years, on July 16, 1955, the doors to the new hospital were opened. The first patient, Bruce Bucklew, was admitted later that morning; the first surgery was performed by Dr. John Trenton on Floyd “Stretch” Ringer, the following morning. The first birth at the hospital didn’t occur for nearly 3 weeks, when Mr. and Mrs. Max Elliot Graham welcomed their daughter, Rona, born on July 28; Dr. Don Brown delivered the baby.

News reports of the day describe the hospital as ‘one of the finest in its size in the country,” and noted “more than 5,000 persons have inspected the hospital” prior to the opening. There was no expansion of the facility for many years, but the ladies of the Hospital Auxiliary opened a snack bar in August of 1957 with money donated by the Rotary. Preston Memorial was officially dedicated September 29, 1955, to the memory of the men and women of Preston County who served in the Armed Forces.

In 1978, the first hospital-based treatment facility in the state was opened with the addition of the Preston Addiction Treatment Center on the third floor of the hospital, and in 1982, the Preston Birth Center opened.

In 1984-1985 the building was renovated and the supervising body changed to a Board of Directors. Preston Memorial is self-sustaining and does not receive any regular funding from the Preston County Commission. The people of the county, however, passed a referendum in September of 1988 increasing their taxes for three years. The money received from this tax went toward paying for bonds used to refinance the renovation. The levy expired in 1991.

Since opening its doors over 55 years ago, Preston Memorial Hospital has been a critical part of the county, providing quality healthcare 24 hours a day. The hospital and its staff are dedicated to providing high quality health services to the people of Preston County while maintaining kind and generous personal care for its patients.

Adding services to adapt to the changing needs of residents and responding to advances in technology, PMH expects to stay in the lead in community health care as they enter their sixth decade of dedicated service.