AdventHealth Wauchula

History

In 1968, construction began on the first hospital in Wauchula, Florida. In 1970, Hardee Memorial Hospital opened. In late July 1992, hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the United States Bankruptcy Court in Tampa. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection had nothing to do with the baby-swap incident. Also in July 1992, the only physician who worked at the hospital quit their job and the medical facility closed later that month. When the hospital closed it had been going by the name Crest Medical Center. In 1994, Adventist Health System had reopened it as Walker Memorial Hospital Wauchula.

On May 31, 2016, there was a groundbreaking for a new hospital. On December 21, 2017, Florida Hospital Wauchula opened.

On January 2, 2019, Florida Hospital Wauchula rebranded to AdventHealth Wauchula. On November 8, the hospital received a bomb threat forcing it to evacuate all of its patients and employees. First responders from Desoto County, Hardee County, Highlands County, Manatee County, Polk County, Florida Highway Patrol and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission all responded to a 911 call from the hospital. But they could not find a bomb in the facility.

On January 1, 2021, all hospitals were required to have their chargemaster on its website by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In a 2022, survey most hospitals in Florida, including AdventHealth Wauchula, were found to have failed to comply with the Hospital Price Transparency Law; the hospital came into full compliance with the law in February 2023.

Baby-swap incident and aftermath

In December 1978, babies Arlena Twigg and Kimberly Michelle May, were born at Hardee Memorial Hospital, they were inadvertently switched, unknown to their parents at the time.

In early September 1988, Ernest and Regina Twigg of Sebring, Florida, filed a lawsuit against Hardee Memorial Hospital and four of its employees in a United States District Court in Tampa for $100 million. They did this after a genetic test on Arlena, before she died in August 1988 from a congenital heart defect, revealed that she was not their daughter. The Twiggs asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate Hardee Memorial Hospital, which they did, finding that no federal crime had been committed.

In 1989, the Twiggs filed a lawsuit against Robert Mays of Sarasota, Florida to seek custody of Kimberly Mays; after almost a year they agreed to drop their custody lawsuit if a genetic test was done on Kimberly. Originally Robert Mays had refused to submit Kimberly to a genetic test. When the genetic test was carried out on Robert and Kimberly by Johns Hopkins University, it found that Kimberly was, to 99.9 percent probability, the daughter of the Twiggs.

In 1991, Hardee Memorial Hospital agreed to settle the lawsuit for $3.5 million to $7 million. Also in late August 1992, the hospital agreed to settle a lawsuit by Robert Mays and daughter Kimberly Mays for $6.6 million. The money would be paid out from the Florida Patient's Compensation Fund, which was created by Florida hospitals to pay for lawsuits by patients.

In late August 1993, Kimberly Mays successfully divorced the Twiggs, when Circuit Judge Stephen Dakan refused to order her to see them. In late November 1993, the Twiggs asked for a criminal probe into the baby-swap. They did this after Patsy Webb, a former nurses' aid from Hardee Memorial Hospital, had said that a physician told her to switch Arlena and Kimberly. And that she had refused the request of the physician and that the following day they had been switched. Later Robert May had been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and took a polygraph test, which he passed.

No criminal probe was planned, since the claim by Patsy Webb was considered a tall tale. During the custody hearing for Kimberly, Webb said in court that she knew nothing of the switch.

In March 1994, Kimberly Mays ran away from home and was found later by Sarasota police at the YMCA, she later moved in with the Twiggs. In early May 1994, the Twiggs, Robert Mays and Kimberly were back in the courtroom of Circuit Judge Stephen Dakan. He overturned his August 1993 decision, granting both the Twiggs and Robert Mays guardianship of Kimberly.

References

References

1. "AdventHealth Wauchula".
2. (September 8, 2019). "Switched at birth: In 1988, a Southwest Florida calamity drew national attention". [[Sarasota Herald Tribune]].
3. Effron, Lauren. (November 27, 2019). "Kim Mays, biological family involved in switched-at-birth scandal, custody battle describe navigating troubled times".
4. (November 8, 2019). "Bomb threat prompts evacuation at AdventHealth Hospital in Hardee County".
5. (November 8, 2019). "Hospital in Hardee County evacuated following bomb threat".
6. (November 20, 2024). "AdventHealth Wauchula Hosts Party Honoring 30th Anniversay". [[The Herald-Advocate]].
7. Stengle, Bernice. (July 31, 1992). "Baby-swap hospital files for bankruptcy". [[Tampa Bay Times]].
8. (August 1, 1992). "Hospital In The Baby-swap Case Files For Bankruptcy". [[Orlando Sentinel]].
9. (September 22, 1992). "Hospital Swaps $6.6 Million To Settle Baby-Switch Suit". [[Deseret News]].
10. Stengle, Bernice. (September 14, 1992). "The hospital in the country has fallen ill". [[Tampa Bay Times]].
11. (June 27, 2016). "Florida Hospital breaks ground for new facility in Wauchula".
12. (June 27, 2016). "Florida Hospital Wauchula breaks ground on $32M hospital".
13. Ross, Nikki. (January 2, 2019). "Florida Hospital is now AdventHealth". [[The Daytona Beach News-Journal]].
14. (January 2, 2019). "Florida Hospital is now AdventHealth".
15. (November 8, 2019). "All-clear given after bomb threat forced evacuations at Wauchula Advent Health".
16. (November 8, 2019). "Patients evacuated from hospital after bomb threat; radio station also threatened".
17. (November 8, 2019). "Bomb threats to hospital and radio station being investigates in Hardee County".
18. (February 23, 2022). "New report shows Tampa Bay hospitals not following medical transparency law".
19. Miller, Daylina. (August 12, 2022). "Report shows majority of Florida hospitals are not complying with the federal price transparency law".
20. Chavez, Juan. (February 10, 2023). "Find out if Tampa Bay hospitals are hiding costs of medical care". [[Tampa Bay Times]].
21. (November 23, 1989). "Facing Facts: How Dad Told Girl She Wasn't His". [[Chicago Tribune]].
22. (September 8, 1988). "Wrong-Tot Suit Hinges On Genetic 'Fingerprint'". [[The Morning Call]].
23. (September 22, 1988). "Nine Years After Births, F.B.I. Investigates Baby Swap Case". [[The New York Times]].
24. (November 20, 1989). "Tests Prove Babies Were Swapped". [[Deseret News]].
25. (November 20, 1989). "Tests confirm 10-year-old-mix-up". [[Post-Bulletin]].
26. (November 20, 1989). "Tests Prove Wrong Couple Got Kimberly". [[Orlando Sentinel]].
27. Good, Jeffrey. (July 30, 1991). "$7-million ends baby swap suit". [[Tampa Bay Times]].
28. (September 28, 1991). "The Twigg Settlement". [[Orlando Sentinel]].
29. Rohter, Larry. (August 19, 1993). "Florida Girl, 14, Wins Right Not to See Biological Family". [[The New York Times]].
30. Harrison, Eric. (August 19, 1993). "Court Will Not Force Girl to See Birth Parents". [[Los Angeles Times]].
31. (November 25, 1993). "Parents Ask Criminal Probe In Florida Baby Swap Case". [[Los Angeles Times]].
32. (November 25, 1993). "Criminal Probe Sought In Claim Of Baby Swap". [[Deseret News]].
33. (November 23, 1993). "Florida Nurse's Aide Tells Of 1978 Baby Swap". [[The Washington Post]].
34. "No probe planned into baby swap tale". [[Tampa Bay Times]].
35. (March 3, 1994). "Girl in Custody Dispute Leaves the Father She Fought". [[The New York Times]].
36. Clary, Mike. (March 10, 1994). "Kimberly Mays Moves in With Birth Parents: Family Teen-ager switched as newborn asks to stay with couple she told court she never wanted to see again. 'Personal difficulties' cited.". [[Los Angeles Times]].
37. Murphy, Chuck. (March 10, 1994). "Kim Mays moves in with parents she 'divorced'". [[Tampa Bay Times]].
38. (May 15, 1994). "Judge Finalizes Parent Switch By Florida Girl". [[The New York Times]].
39. (May 15, 1994). "Judge signs order giving Kim Mays three guardians". [[Tampa Bay Times]].