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It was first called Walker
Memorial Hospital, then Florida Walker in Avon Park. But with
the new hospital opening this month in Sebring, the name Walker
will disappear. It will simply be called Florida Hospital.
Who was Walker? In the 1940s, many folks - especially C.H.
Walker, president of the local citrus growers association -
thought the Highland Lakes area, several miles north of the
city, would make an ideal site for much-needed hospital. Here
was the former Highland Lakes Hotel and Casino, once occupied by
World War II aviation cadets, just sitting idle and empty.
In March 1947 came representatives form the Seventh-Day
Adventist Church, looking for a suitable hospital site. After
surveying the hospital property, they contacted the federal
government for its purchase.
In the meantime, a Ridge Committee, under Walker’s
leadership, was raising money for equipment and to convert the
hotel into a hospital.
By the end of the year, the church purchased the hotel
property at a discount of 100 percent, making it a virtual gift
from the government.
Fund-raising was doing well. The final $50,000 for equipment
was secured by Walker. And then, suddenly, he died. It was a
blow to the committee, but a greater blow to Avon Park.
In June 1948, what once had been a grand hotel was formally
dedicated as Walker Memorial Hospital, a tribute to the man who
had successfully conducted a financial drive in its behalf.
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3
N. Museum Avenue
