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Monmouth Medical Center and the Hazard Hospital

Professional healthcare in Long Branch got its start in four rented rooms above a Broadway storefront, Arnold’s Deli, in 1887. By October 1890 hospital work had moved into an old hotel on Second Avenue (the Central Hotel built in the 1870s) which was acquired for $25,000. It had been built by Richard J. Dobbins, a wealthy builder from Philadelphia.

When officially chartered in January 1889, the entity was called the Long Branch Hospital (with only six beds). Later that year it became Monmouth Hospital and then in March 1889 it became Monmouth Memorial Hospital. Finally in August 1958, it became Monmouth Medical Center. At that time the hospital had 350 beds and George J. Bartel was the administrator. The first regular hospital staff was appointed in June 1889 and Dr. James J. Reed made the first medical staff report then.

The first president of the hospital Board of Governors was Dr. Sylvester H. Hunt. Other hospital charter members were: Thomas G. Chattle, Henry S. White, Rufus Blodgett, Thomas R. Woolley, George W. Brown, Thomas W. Cooper, Joseph W. Emanuel, Tylee C. Morford, Horace B. Bannard, Matthew H. Houghton, and Thomas Mauer. The School of Nursing opened in 1896; L.A. Mills was the first Director.

Edwin Field, MD, served as the hospital’s first chief of staff — for over 30 years. Known for his “lovable personality” and “great skill as a surgeon” (a rare mix) he had practiced in Red Bank since 1876. A Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons graduate, he died in October 1922.

The city’s healthcare complex has grown considerably over the past 130 years: The Tacie Harper wing was opened in 1899 and the Jacques Wimpfheimer memorial wing in 1919. In 1953, the old hotel building was wrecked to make way for the modern health facility and its many wings and additions. The Mary Owen Borden pavilion was opened in 1940, the Community wing in 1950, the Betty Block Roberts pavilion in 1959, the Anna Greenwall wing in 1964, the Henry Pollak Clinic in 1965, the Alexander  pavilion 1969, the Robert C. Stanley wing  in 1979 and the E. Murray Todd building in 1987.

Today, the 1-million-square-foot teaching hospital with about 1,700 employees is part of the RWJ Barnabus Health network — NJ’s largest healthcare system. Here are some pictures of the hospital through the years:

Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1918.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1912.

Early On — Monmouth Memorial Hospital on Third Avenue, 1907.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital and Nurse’s Home, 1906.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1915.

Long Branch Hospital, 1890s.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1951.

Monmouth Medical Center aerial image, 1961.

Monmouth Medical Center on Second Avenue, 1969. The healthcare institution remains the city’s top employer — going back several generations. The hospital is on the 2022 “Best Hospitals in America” list complied by Money.com. MORE INFO.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital on Second Avenue, 1910s.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1951.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1950s.

Susan Greenwall Pavilion dedication, Long Branch Daily Record, June 1965. The six-story wing cost $4.2 million.

New Monmouth Medical Center Emergency Center sketch plan, APP August 1969. The $1 million project included six ambulance bays, 10 exam/trauma rooms and a small OR and X-ray room. Hall Construction of Little Silver built the Second Avenue facility. The 24/7 emergency complex opened in July 1970. Today, the facility handles nearly 50,000 annual visits.

Members of the Monmouth Medical Center Emergency Department, July 2022. Congrats to this city healthcare institution for earning the Emergency Nurses Association’s Lantern Award.

Arnold’s Deli on Broadway, 1887. The origins of healthcare in Long Branch.

Central Hotel on Third Avenue, 1870s.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1889.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1907.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1915.

God’s Work — Monmouth Medical Center crowned by a glorious rainbow, 2019.

From hotel to hospital, late 1800s.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1951.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1900.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1919.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1908.

Hyer & Flock funeral wagon in front of Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1908

Monmouth Memorial Hospital at night, 1910.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital OR, 1910.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1912.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1920s.

Monmouth Memorial Hospital, 1940s.

Monmouth Medical Center sketch, 1965.

Monmouth Medical Center, 1966.

Monmouth Medical Center, 1960s.

Monmouth Medical Center, 2019.

E. Murray Todd wing at MMC. Added in 1987.

Monmouth Medical Center, 2014.

Historic plaque recognizing 125 years of service by MMC, 2012.

New Monmouth Medical Center sketch proposal. Long Branch Daily Record, June 1965.

Dr. E.C. Hazard Memorial Hospital

This charity hospital at Washington and Dewey Streets — known as the “hospital with a heart” — was opened by Elmer Clarke Hazard, MD, in December 1920 (beginning with 10 beds in an old two-story frame barn). By 1931 the hospital was incorporated.

At its peak just around World War II, the city healthcare facility had about 100 beds. Operating as a general hospital/ER with a nursing school, it specialized in pediatrics and obstetrics. A $250,000 expansion wing was opened in September 1956; former heavyweight boxing champs Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano were both on hand for the dedication, according to a Long Branch Daily Record report.

The eldest son of a tomato ketchup factory owner and fancy groceries magnate, Dr. Hazard was born in NYC in December 1879. He graduated the University of Maryland Medical School in 1904. “Life is far more valuable then money,” was the good doctor’s healing philosophy.

Much-admired around the city, Dr. Hazard “created a place where the poor, the suffering, and the needy could go for help without having to worry about the financial burden involved,” according to a June 1958 Long Branch Daily Record editorial. At one time the hospital led the nation in the percentage of charity patients treated.

Dr. Hazzard died in November 1954 after a long illness. His brother, Bowdoin Hazard, was the hospital’s administrator for over decade. He died in Feb. 1957 after his car was hit a by a train at the Joline Avenue crossing.

In Feb. 1959, the Home for the Chronic Sick of Irvington, NJ acquired the facility for $300,000; Joseph Fox, PhD was the executive director. The facility was hit by a fire in May 1968 and Dr. Hazard’s original house was torn down in 1969. The facility ceased operations in 1974.

Hazard Hospital. APP, April 1954.

Hazard Memorial Hospital, 1958. When the three-story brick addition opened in September 1956, it included 14 patient rooms, an ER, two ORs, and an X-ray and exam room. At the time, top orthopedic surgeon Dr. Anthony J. Pisani was hospital chief of staff  and Florence Murphy was hospital administrator.

Hazard Hospital, 1950s. For treatment during Great Depression years, 90% of the patients paid nothing.