In celebration of Black History Month here’s a story that needs to be told. Hartsville, TN, once a farming community like so many others in our great a state, has experienced sweeping changes in recent years. But unlike many small towns, Hartsville has managed to hold on to three very important entities — a weekly newspaper (The Hartsville Vidette), a local radio station (WTNK), and a hometown hospital (Trousdale Medical Center.) This story is about the hospital and a man named Robert Calhoun.
Trousdale Medical Center, once known as Hartsville Hospital, was built in 1962. Dr. E.K. Bratton, one of the founding physicians, was instrumental in creating a marvelous culture of care which still exists today. (Employees who have been there for years vow that his ghost still walks the halls.)
Shortly after graduating from high school in 1966, Robert Calhoun came to work at the hospital as what was then called a janitor — a position later called “housekeeping,” — even later known as “environmental services.” He, along with his brother Larry and a number of cousins, saw to it that the hospital was immaculately cleaned for years.
George Harris, who served as maintenance engineer at the hospital for over 40 years said he had worked under 19 different hospital administrators. In 1999, I became that 19th administrator.
Over a span of 60 years, you can imagine all the changes a hospital might undergo. Trousdale Medical saw changes in ownership (Some good, some bad.), changes in physicians, changes in management. All the while, the hospital building continued to age. Robert Calhoun and his staff continued to clean.
Then, through a fortuitous series of circumstances near the turn of the century, the hospital was purchased by Carthage General Hospital, at that time a part of the Covenant Health System. Under the leadership of Hospital Administrator, Wayne Winfree vast improvements were made to the interior of the hospital — new flooring, new wallpaper, new paint. Under Robert Calhoun’s watchful eye, the hospital interior sparkled.
In a few short years, it appeared the hospital would be up for sale again. Contacts were made. The big question became what do we have to sell? Two things — culture and clean.
At the same time, Trousdale Medical Center was being surveyed by Joint Commission. The leader of the survey team was a pediatrician from Virginia, a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School. At the end of the survey period, on the day I was to take him to the airport, he walked with me to my car. As he sat down in the passenger seat, he turned to me and said, “Mr. McCall, I see about 50 hospitals each year, and I have been doing surveys for years. And this hospital is, without question, the cleanest hospital I have ever seen.”
I rode that horse for all it was worth. The cleanliness of the hospital was the single most important factor in placing Trousdale Medical Center in what would turn out to be capable hands. The driving force was a man who had cleaned the hospital for over 50 years. His name was Robert Calhoun.
In 2013, Robert Calhoun received the Meritorious Award from the Tennessee Hospital Association for his outstanding accomplishments as a Departmental Manager. Each year he actively supported a health fair at his church. The first time I attended that health fair my first thought was, as I entered the church fellowship hall, “Robert Calhoun has been here!” “Pristine” is the word that came to my mind. It is defined as “pure, in perfect condition, fresh and clean as if new.” That is the way Robert Calhoun kept things.
Could one man have that much impact of a church, a community, or even, the future of a hospital?
Covid took him in 2022. But not before he had made his mark.
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