With bulldozers grading the hilltop on which Baptist Hospital would rest, a more fully formed administration and medical staff began to develop. Citizens of Oklahoma City could begin to envision the new hospital as it started to rise above the plains.

Dr. Henry G. Bennett Jr., the hospital’s first chief of staff, began recruiting physicians to practice at the new hospital. Oklahoma City doctors enthusiastically sought practice privileges, including Dr. Robert Anspaugh who committed to heading up the new hospital’s obstetric and gynecology department.

During the same time, John Hendricks hired his assistant administrator, James “Jay” Henry, a young graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University with a master’s degree in hospital administration from Northwestern University. Henry had been serving as administrator of Parkview Hospital in El Reno, Oklahoma, following a stint in the Army’s medical corps.

Baptist Memorial Hospital’s cornerstone was ceremonially laid by Hendricks on Nov. 13, 1958. More than 250 individuals, 85 businesses and 95 Baptist churches across the state had contributed at least $500.

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