Rush Health Systems
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“We believe in the trait of human-kind which makes each man his brother’s keeper: that the strong will care for the weak.”
That simple, powerful principle, set down in 1947 as the concluding line of the Rush Builder’s Creed, has guided Rush Health Systems since Dr. J. H. Rush opened Meridian’s first private hospital, the 18-bed Rush Infirmary, in 1915.
Dr. Rush’s sons soon joined the staff, Dr. Lowry Rush, Sr., in 1921 and Dr. Leslie Rush in 1927. When the Rush Infirmary became Rush Memorial Hospital in 1947, the bed capacity was expanded to 102 and nursing home services were added. More expansions followed in 1963, 1967, and 1975. In 1965, the facility was renamed Rush Foundation Hospital.
Today, Rush Health Systems still proudly operates Rush Foundation Hospital, now a 215-bed acute care facility. Also serving East Central Mississippi and West Central Alabama are The Specialty Hospital of Meridian, a 49-bed long-term acute care hospital, and five critical access hospitals:
- Laird Hospital in Union, Mississippi
- H. C. Watkins Memorial Hospital in Quitman, Mississippi
- Scott Regional Hospital in Morton, Mississippi
- John C. Stennis Memorial Hospital in DeKalb, Mississippi
- Choctaw General Hospital in Butler, Alabama.
Rush Health Systems also encompasses Medical Foundation, Inc., a physician management company, and Rush Medical Group, a multispecialty physician practice.
Innovation has characterized Rush throughout the decades. In 1936, Dr. Leslie Rush made medical history by performing the first known bone pinning in the United States. That revolutionary fracture 
treatment spurred the development of the Rush Pin, still used today.
Other firsts at Rush include opening the state’s first blood bank, partnering with Meridian Junior College (now Meridian Community College) to create the state’s first Junior college-hospital nursing program, hiring the state’s first pathologist, opening the state’s first intensive care unit, opening Meridian’s first wellness center, and the first to perform robotic-assisted hysterectomies in East Mississippi.
In September 2019, Rush announced a strategic partnership with Ochsner Health System of Louisiana that highlights Rush’s commitment to remain on the cutting edge of healthcare. The partnership includes implementation of best-in-class electronic health information software from Epic, leveraging of 
Ochsner’s comprehensive telemedicine capabilities, access to Ochsner’s nationally recognized billing systems, and other investments in state-of-the-art medical technology.
As always, Rush remains committed to move confidently into the future as a progressive, modern health system with bright things ahead for its patients and community. As its brothers’ and sisters’ keeper, Rush will always be committed to providing the very best of care.
Rush Health Systems
1314 19th Ave., Meridian, MS