Jupiter Medical Center History

It started out in December 1956 as a retirement village called SALHAVEN, with 125 units renting for $35 a month, a 34-bed Convalescence Pavilion, a small Outpatient Clinic and an ambulance. Jupiter was a sparsely settled village of 500, with no amenities to entice or keep retirees here when they were used to life in the big cities of New York and Chicago. Consequently, Salhaven failed. In 1971 the land was sold to Burning Foot Ltd., a consortium headed by local physician Dr. George Ford, Jr., 23 physicians, a lawyer and a real estate broker. Encouragement for a medical center came from a group of residents of Jupiter Island who promised funds if Dr. Ford could get physicians to practice in the north end of Palm Beach County and support a hospital.

On May 11, 1973, Drs. George Ford, Edwin Brown and William Donovan formed the Palm Beach-Martin County Medical Center, a not-for-profit corporation. In the fall, Burning Foot Ltd. sold the 600 Salhaven acres east of the FEC Railroad to Alcoa Corporation – 30 acres, now the site of today’s Jupiter Medical Center, were donated to the Palm Beach-Martin County Medical Center on the condition that it continue to operate the existing Salhaven Outpatient Clinic and Convalescence Pavilion until new facilities were constructed. Alcoa leased the existing Clinic and Pavilion to the Center for one dollar per year, and the Center took over their operation on January 18, 1974.

The first building to be constructed on the 30-acre site was the two-story Outpatient Medical Center, which opened on October 16, 1976. From the first day, Auxilians staffed the information desk, which also served as the Auxiliary’s office. Later, this building was connected to the Hospital by an arcade, and the name Outpatient Building continues to be used for the south wing of the Hospital.

On September 2, 1977, the 120-bed Convalescence Pavilion welcomed its first patients. Auxilians helped transfer them from Salhaven and thereafter had direct contact with patients and the nursing staff in providing non-medical services. In 1996, the name was changed to the Jupiter Medical Center Pavilion in keeping with its mission of providing sub acute care.

The Hospital opened on February 14, 1979 with 156 single–bed rooms, each with a private bath. In September 1984, reorganization took place and we became the Jupiter Medical Center. Jupiter Medical Center remains a private, not-for-profit community medical facility governed by a Board of Trustees.

The Ella Milbank Foshay Cancer Center opened on July 26, 1986. Mrs. Foshay, a resident of Jupiter Island, passed away from cancer at the Medical Center in 1982. Her husband, William Ward Foshay, and other members of her family, in gratitude for the quality of care she received during her final days and the compassionate concern shown to her family, provided the funds from a family foundation, the Dunlevy Milbank Foundation, to build this memorial to her. The Outpatient Radiation and Oncology Department occupies the first floor. In June 1991, the Outpatient Chemotherapy Department was opened on the second floor.  In 2002, the Cancer Center underwent a major renovation project.

In 1996, Jupiter Medical Center completed construction of a 71,000 square foot expansion of the Medical Center and renovation of our existing 40,000 square foot of space. This project cost approximately $38 million and included surgical suites, a new emergency room, a new imaging center, and the John and Margaret Clark Patient Registration Center, and the Cardiopulmonary Diagnostic Center was named for donors Edmona L. and Frank L. Mansell.

The Medical Center’s next complex was Jupiter Medical Center’s Health & Wellness Center at 1004 South Old Dixie Highway. Opened in February 1997, it contains state-of-the-art physical therapy and exercise equipment and a 40-foot indoor aquatic center.

On November 12, 1998 an open house and ribbon cutting celebrated the official opening of Jupiter Medical Center West, a state-of-the-art facility located in Jupiter Farms at 10094 West Indiantown Road.  The Center offers comprehensive family care,adult rehabilitation and pediatric therapy to the 15,000 residents of the Jupiter Farms area.

Jupiter Medical Center took another step in extending its commitment to provide comprehensive medical services to the community with The Medical Office Building, part of The Medical Park of Jupiter Medical Center, located at 2055 Military Trail, 1 mile southwest of the main Medical Center campus.  The Medical Office Building includes an Ambulatory Surgical Center and expanded outpatient imaging services.  Designed to serve the northern Palm Beach communities, the Medical Office Building also includes 26,000 square feet of physician office space.