
Garnett Radin
The first hospital in Indian River County opened in 1932 as a private institution owned and operated by Garnett L. Radin, a registered nurse living in Vero Beach. In 1940, the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce established the not-for-profit Indian River Hospital Association, Inc., which helped Mrs. Radin secure financial assistance to maintain and expand the services of her 21-bed and 5-bassinet hospital. In 1945, Mrs. Radin sold the hospital to the Association, becoming the hospital superintendent after she returned from service in the Navy.
In 1952, the hospital, then called Indian River Memorial Hospital, became the smallest hospital – with 35 beds – to be accredited by the Joint Committee on Accreditation of Hospitals. A special act of the 1959 session of the Florida Legislature established the Indian River County Hospital District and created a Board of Trustees with seven publicly elected members, which took control of the hospital, laying the foundation for building a healthcare complex offering extended healthcare services. Over the next 25 years, the hospital rapidly expanded to meet the growing healthcare needs of Indian River County.