City: Savannah, GA

Category: Health Care

Telephone: (912) 692-6000

Address: 5353 Reynolds St.

Description: One of the longest continually operating hospitals in the United States and the first in Georgia, Candler was founded in 1805 and chartered in 1808 as the Savannah Poor House and Hospital. A new facility of the same name was built on Gaston Street in 1819, used as a Confederate hospital during the Civil War, and renamed Savannah Hospital in 1872. The first school of nursing in Savannah was established there in 1902, and 28 years later the Methodist Episcopal Church purchased the hospital from the city and renamed it Warren A. Candler Hospital in honor of one of its bishops. During the 1960s, the hospital was renamed Candler General Hospital and expanded through the purchase of the Telfair Hospital (which became its obstetrical unit) and the Central of Georgia Railway Hospital. Construction of a new hospital at DeRenne Avenue and Reynolds Street began in fall 1978, and it was opened in late 1980. Its name was changed to Candler Hospital in 1992, with the word General being dropped to reflect the hospital’s growth in specialized health-care services. Candler is affiliated with the Emory University System of Health Care.