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Initially, the pool of natural warm water located at the Foundation furnished the facilities for treatment and it continues to serve a specific purpose in the treatment of those patients for whom hydrotherapy is indicated. As the work at the Foundation progressed, however, conditions made it necessary to broaden the field and scope of treatment and to supplement hydrotherapy with additional methods, as all problems did not lend themselves to the efficacy of a single regime.

Many cases presented themselves for treatment within a few weeks after the acute onset and their condition on admission demanded prolonged rest in bed with medical and nursing care and other facilities which had to be installed at the Foundation. Care had to be exercised to prevent, deformities while improvement in muscle power was taking place. Many patients had well defined deformities on admission which needed correction before any type of physical therapy could be of value. In some instances this could be accomplished by braces or a series of corrective plaster casts, and in advanced cases surgical intervention was sometimes necessary. All these phases of treatment and many others have been added during the life of the Foundation, resulting in what might be called a more individualized type of treatment than it was originally possible to give.

With the completion of the Medical Building in 1939, still greater progress has been possible along advanced lines of treatment.

Location

THE FOUNDATION is located at Warm Springs in west-central Georgia in Meriwether County on the slopes and summit of Pine Mountain at an altitude of from 1000 to 1200 feet. It is about 75 miles southwest of Atlanta, 6 miles from Manchester and 39 miles from Columbus. It is on the route of the Southern Railway and may be reached by railroad connections with that city or by motor over concrete highways. There is a commercial airport about 6 miles from Atlanta in the direction of Warm Springs.

Physical Equipment

THE FOUNDATION is a complete community in itself, maintaining its own water supply from the famous warm springs, a sewage disposal system, miles of improved road -- all located in a tract of land over 1800 acres, most of which is in a natural state of forestation. On this site are the following buildings:

THE MEDICAL BUILDING completed in 1939 is a three-story, fireproof structure housing the numerous necessary activities of the Medical Department. The third floor has accommodations for 40 patients, consisting of single and double rooms, and wards for younger children. These facilities are used for operative cases, and for convalescent patients who require nursing attention following an acute attack. The second floor contains an air-conditioned operating suite equipped for orthopedic surgery, an emergency room, an x-ray room, a laboratory, a library, examination rooms and ample office space for the medical staff. One section of the ground floor is devoted to the nurses' living quarters; the remainder of that floor housing the drug room, plaster room, appliance shop, photographic studio and the physiotherapy department. All floors are connected by an automatic elevator.

The NORMAN WILSON MEMORIAL INFIRMARY adjoining the Medical Building, is used for those patients who, while allowed a certain amount of activity, still require close nursing supervision and cannot be classified as ambulatory.

Those patients who have reached the ambulatory stage are housed in two fireproof buildings:

BUILDERS HALL, donated by a construction firm and a group of material and supply contractors, housing 17 patients in single and double rooms and --

KRESS HALL, donated by Samuel H., Rush H., and the late Claude W. Kress, located about one hundred feet from Georgia Hall. The upper floor of Kress Hall is used as an adult dormitory, and the lower floor is used by very young children.

GEORGIA HALL, built with funds donated by the people of the State of Georgia, provides a community dining room, kitchen, a gathering place for music and games, reception and information desk, and administration offices.

The SCHOOL AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY BUILDING completed in 1939, was the gift of Mrs. S. Pinkney Tuck. This is a one-story building, containing properly equipped rooms for occupational therapy and for class teaching, as well as several smaller rooms for individual tutoring. It also houses a collection of books which comprises a very complete reference library for use of the pupils of the school, as well as a number of books for general reading by patients and staff.

A fully equipped BRACE SHOP where the braces and other apparatus used by the patients are made and directly fitted, is located near the Infirmary.

The Foundation has its own non-sectarian CHAPEL which was the donation principally of Miss Georgia M. Wilkins. An organ, the gift of Mr. and Mrs. James B. McHutchinson, and a bell contributed by Dr. and Mrs. G. H. Huntington, greatly enhance the utility of this building.