Collierville, Tenn., Jan. 31, 2001 - Officials at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Collierville announced today that Mid-South resident Bill Fitch has offered to relocate, restore and preserve the Deloach House, located on the hospital's campus.

Fitch, who has an interest and experience in restoring and preserving historic buildings, will have the home moved to Holly Springs, Miss., in the near future. He communicated with family members of the home's former owners and has their support for the project. The Josiah Deloach House was built before the Civil War, and it is said that Gen. Ulysses S. Grant stopped at the home while Union and Confederate troops were in the area.

"To remain consistent with the mission of Baptist Memorial Health Care, the hospital could not use health care funds to restore or preserve any type of real estate that is not health care related" said Jim Ainsworth, administrator and CEO at Baptist Collierville. "We have to commit our resources to providing high quality health care services to our community."

Ainsworth added that Baptist representatives are pleased they could find a party interested in moving, restoring and preserving the historic home. Officials have spent the last few years looking at various options for the future of the building.

Once the house is relocated, Baptist will break ground on the first phase of a planned 180,000-square-foot physician office complex. Phase one will include a two-story, 40,000-square-foot facility, slated for completion in spring 2002. The complex will sit on a 19-acre tract adjacent to the hospital's main campus. Trees on the home site will be preserved.

"Building this complex is an important step in meeting the ever-growing demand for space and expansion of services at Baptist Collierville," Ainsworth said. "We are already approaching a 70 percent occupancy for the new building and want to continue to meet the health care needs of the Collierville community."

Baptist Memorial Hospital-Collierville opened in 1999 and includes a 24-hour, full-service emergency room; six suites for labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum; five surgery suites; an intensive care unit; 48 acute care beds; 16 outpatient beds; cardiac rehabilitation; outpatient rehabilitation; and a Sleep Disorders Center.

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