VETERANS ADMINISTRATION MEDICAL CENTER, MARLIN. In 1943 residents of Marlin heard of plans to locate a naval hospital in Texas, and a group of them immediately began lobbying to have Marlin chosen as the site of the new facility. Three years later President Harry S. Truman authorized the construction of a veterans' hospital at Marlin. Construction began in June 1948 at an eight-acre site on the north side of the community, and the center was dedicated in September 1950. It employed fourteen physicians, two dentists, forty-two nurses, and various aides and had bed space for 222 patients. The center provided both acute and intermediate medical care, rehabilitation services, and ambulatory care. By 1990 the medical center had reduced its inpatient capacity to 202. It depended upon the Olin E. Teague Veterans Center, Templeqv for surgical emergencies and the Veterans Administration Medical Center, Wacoqv for psychiatric services. The primary mission of the center at Marlin was to provide for the rehabilitation and treatment of chronically or acutely ill or aging veterans. The center is affiliated with the Texas A&M University College of Medicine, as well as with nursing programs at McLennan Community College in Waco and the University of Texas at Arlington.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Marlin Veterans Administration Medical Center (Marlin: Department of Veteran Affairs, 1991).
Vivian Elizabeth Smyrl
