In 1942, WWII was fueling rapid economic and population growth in the Brazosport area. Because Freeport Hospital was unable to meet the area's escalating medical needs, Dow Magnesium Hospital was built as part of a defense project in conjunction with the Dow Magnesium Corporation.
Back then, this small 42 bed hospital included an operating room, an emergency room, and a kitchen and dining room for the doctors and nurses. The hospital served as a center for smallpox and diphtheria immunizations.

In February 1947, Dow purchased the building from the government and later donated the hospital to the community in April 1961 - a gift worth $1,175,000. Renamed the Community Hospital of Brazosport, hospital staff consisted of 29 nurses, 6 licensed vocational nurses, 21 nurse's aides, 25 active physicians, 17 courtesy staff physicians, and 10 consulting physicians. Bed capacity was 78 beds having been expanded in 1955.

However, as the community grew, a need for a larger facility arose and in 1966, a new four-story building was completed. The $2.2 million, 60,000 square foot facility had increased bed capacity to 127 and the Community Hospital of Brazosport, located in Freeport was closed.

In the new hospital, each of the four floors had a separate function. The first floor held the business and administrative offices, lobby, gift shop and cafeteria. The second floor was devoted to gynecological and neonatal services with 2 delivery rooms, 5 labor beds, 22 postpartum beds, a nursery and sleep area for doctors. Surgical facilities were located on the third floor and consisted of 3 operating rooms, 5 recovery beds, 6 beds for special post-surgical care, 28 beds for post-surgery and x-ray facilities. The fourth floor was the medical floor and included a six-bed intensive care unit.



Although building improvements were made in 1971 and 1979, design and structural deficiencies presented the building from meeting building codes. Officials decided to rebuild and relocate the hospital. Dow again opened their hearts with a generous contribution and 25 acres of land. Based on a study of the area's medical needs, construction plans were formulated and in renamed Brazosport Memorial Hospital, was completed in October 1984.

Over the past 20 years, the Lake Jackson facility has acquired many additions. In December of 1992, the Women's Health Center opened in the Annex Building. The months later, the Cancer Center was opened following a significant Health Foundation capital campaign. In 1998, BMH completed an extensive expansion and renovation project that added the Wound Healing Center, Cardiac Rehabilitation Center, the outside Laboratory, Minor Care in the ER, the Business and Financial Services building, Same Day Surgery and Endoscopy area, a new pharmacy & materials services area, a new environmental services department, a new PT area, and 3 new classrooms.



In August of 2004, Brazosport Memorial Hospital broke ground for another major expansion of its facilities. In January of 2006, the hospital opened the 26, 000 square-foot addition housing a ten-bed unit of Labor/Delivery/Recovery/Postpartum (LDRP) maternity rooms and state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging center with a new CT Scan and MRI, plus two new mammography suites. The final phase of this construction was completed with the inauguration in August 2006 of a state-of-the-art interventional Cardiac Cath Lab.

Later this year, we will be opening our Brazosport Regional Urgent Care facility in Lake Jackson and a primary care clinic in Peach Point in 2007.