Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center Celebrates 50 Years, Receives National Award

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Not long after Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center in Columbia celebrated its 50th anniversary, the healthcare provider was nationally recognized for stroke and heart care.

Johns Hopkins Howard County first opened July 17, 1973, as the Columbia Hospital and Clinics Foundation, offering care from a 75,000-square-foot facility with emergency services, a three-bed coronary unit, a 10-bassinet nursery, operating rooms and delivery suites, and 59 general patient beds. The next year, in 1974, the name changed to Howard County General Hospital.

In the next 50 years, the hospital opened new wings and medical buildings, joined Johns Hopkins Medicine and added services to meet the growing needs of the community. Today, it has become a comprehensive acute care medical center with 226 licensed beds and specializing in women’s and children’s services, surgery, cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, gerontology, psychiatry, emergency services and community health education.

The medical center celebrated its 50th anniversary at a Heroes in Health Care special event June 12 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia where the organization announced its name change to Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center.

“As we celebrate our anniversary and reflect on our past, we are proud to have cared for our community members, during special moments and difficult times,” said Dr. Shafeeq Ahmed, president of Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center. “We thank the community for entrusting us with their health care and for their support as we move health care forward.”

Recently, Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines - Stroke Gold and Mission: Lifeline NSTEMI Gold quality awards. The awards recognize the medical center’s commitment to ensuring stroke and NSTEMI heart attack patients receive the best treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.

Johns Hopkins Howard County also made the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll for ensuring patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke.

Get With The Guidelines and Mission: Lifeline are the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement programs that provide hospitals with the latest research-based guidelines. Each year, program participants qualify for the awards by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, participants also educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home.