In 1946, several of the town's leaders met to discuss building a hospital for the city. This hospital was to meet the growing needs of the citizens for surgical facilities and medical care involving hospital stays of a week or more. The group connected with the Louisiana Baptist Convention to establish Beauregard Memorial Baptist Hospital.
Beauregard Memorial Baptist Hospital opened its doors in 1950 with 28 beds. Only three physicians served the citizens of DeRidder at the time. The population of DeRidder and Beauregard Parish continued growing, and in 1959 the hospital had 63 beds. With additional construction being completed in 1968, bringing the total to 84 medical/surgical beds and four labor and delivery beds, the need for a new business office, boardroom and patient beds was on the horizon as the population continued to grow.
With this growth, advances in medical technology and increasingly stringent safety regulations imposed upon healthcare facilities, it became apparent in the early 1970s that a new and modern hospital was a necessity.
The Board of Trustees asked that the hospital be released from the Louisiana Baptist Convention so that other sources could be explored for funding the construction of a new hospital. The Louisiana Baptist Convention released the hospital to the existing Board of Trustees in November 1975. The word "Baptist" was deleted from the hospital name and the board expanded from 9 to 14 to include members from other denominations.
The Police Jury was asked to assist in securing funds for a new facility, and in April 1977 the citizens of Beauregard Parish voted a bond issue of $3,680,000. Beauregard Memorial received $3,180,000 of this, and a loan was secured from FHA for $3,500,000. Construction started in July 1978 and was completed in early 1980.
In 2018 the hospital's name changed to Beauregard Health System. The new name reflects the organization today and where the organization is going in the future. As we have maintained our mission to improve the health and well-being of the people in Beauregard Parish and surrounding communities, we have also evolved and strive to be the premier provider of health and wellness services in our community, as well as the primary connector to healthcare solutions wherever individuals and families are best served.