History

A bit of how two became one

Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System is comprised of two main facilities and eight Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs).  The John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital is in Little Rock and the Eugene J. Towbin VA Medical Center is on the campus of historic Fort Roots in North Little Rock.

Eugene J. Towbin Healthcare Center

Our North Little Rock facility is located on the site of Fort Logan H. Roots, established by the War Department in 1893 and named after Lt. Col. Logan Holt Roots, a member of General Sherman's staff and an Arkansas congressman after the Civil War.

Fort Roots was situated on 1000 acres of land, atop "Big Rock", a 600-foot elevated rock outcropping across the river from Little Rock. In 1894, Congress appropriated $117,500 for con­struction of the Fort's original buildings. Fort Roots re­mained an active military fortress for the next two-and-one ­half decades. Many troops trained at the Fort and left for duty in the Spanish-American War, for Mexican Border duty against Pancho Villa. and finally for Europe during World  War I, during which time it was used as an officers' training, camp. 

After World War I, Fort Roots was transferred to the Public Health Service for use as a hospital, and on March 4, 1921, an Act of the 66th Congress authorized the establishment of a hospital for veterans. Eighty patients arrived at the hospital late that year.  Repairs and alterations at a cost of $250,000 were made to con­vert the Fort to a hospital. The guardhouse was converted into an acute ward and the old post hospital building was used ex­clusively for surgical cases. By 1922, there were accommoda­tions for 250. Although mainly a hospital for psychiatric treatment, patients needing medical treatment were also admit­ted. 

In April 1922, Executive Order No. 3669 transferred Fort Roots from the Public Health Service to the newly formed Veterans Bureau. The hospital contained 1100 acres at the time and consisted of thirty-one permanent type barracks, quarters and other buildings which surrounded the 11.7-acre parade ground. 

In 1923, the Veterans Bureau began an extensive construction program of patient facilities, and, by 1928, the patient popu­lation of Fort Roots, U.S. Veterans Hospital No. 78, had grown to 650 men. The beds for the patients were located on ten different buildings, varying in capacity from 170 to a small group of 18. There were 248 patients admitted to the hospital that year, cared for by a staff of eleven "medical officers", 30 nurses and 100 attendants.

This second phase of construction at Fort Roots consisted of double "T" buildings with stucco exteriors, placed in a semi­circular row behind the original barracks buildings and parade grounds. 

In 1930, "to consolidate and coordinate government activities affecting war veterans", the Veterans Bureau became part of the newly created Veterans Administration. It was at this time that plans were made for the next major period of con­struction. This phase of construction initiated the develop­ment of a site away from the original Fort Roots structures, but still adjacent .to them. The new buildings were placed in  a quadrangle of red-brick, double "T" structures which marked the first time that major structures were not grouped around the original parade grounds. 

It was during this same period of time, the decade of the 1930's, that the great depression occurred. As a result of the Economy Act of 1933, funds for patient services and staff were greatly curtailed. The first salary reductions in government history were made at that ti11le. Those who were fortunate to have jobs and be employees worked twelve hours a day, six days a week.  It was also the era of the WPA (Work Projects Administration) and much of the construction work of the new buildings was performed by men of the WPA. 

By 1939, as much of the construction was completed, the hospital capacity had increased to 1320 beds. World War II and the an­ticipated demand for psychiatric beds for returning veterans pushed the development of the remaining four structures of the seven building quadrangles. By 1947, these structures were completed and the bed capacity had risen to 1896 beds. Fort Roots then had an operating budget of $2,927,000 and 1121 em­ployees, including 14 medical staff officers, 23 army and navy physicians, 67 nurses and 11 cadet nurses. 1946 saw the nation's veteran population increase to 19 million potential beneficiaries, five times what it had been prior to World War II.  A gigantic expansion of VA facilities became necessary.

It was at this time that an additional facility was planned in Little Rock to meet the needs of Arkansas veterans. Funds were appropriated for the new hospital on February 24, 1946 and work on the eleven-million-dollar-hospital was begun on March 1, 1948.  The formal dedication of the 514-bed general hospital took place on November 26, 1950.

The new 415,600 square foot hospital, which, at that time, was the largest single structure in Arkansas. employed 600 people, including 35 physicians and 100 nurses, and had an annual payroll of two-million dollars. 
The Little Rock and Fort Roots Hospitals were independently operated and managed. but their goals -- to provide care second to none -- were the same. 

John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital

John L. McClellan was a Veteran of WWI and a true champion for Veterans.  After military service, he served two terms in the House of Representatives before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1942.  In 1945, Senator McClellan announced the approval of a 500-bed hospital for Veterans to be built on Roosevelt Road in Little Rock.  Among his last major achievements was his successful battle to secure appropriation and approval for a new Veterans hospital, which was completed in 1984 along West 7th Street in Little Rock.  

The hospital boasts 258 beds, state of the art surgical wards, specialty clinics, state of the art radiology services, two intensive care wards, medical/surgical wards, step-down units, and much more.

The hospital is slated to undergo major renovation with the construction of a new main entrance plaza along the south side of the facility, providing a Veteran-centric design and easier entry into the building.