History

September 2012, Trover Health System combined with Baptist Health, joining its state-wide system of hospitals and healthcare facilities. Prior to joining with Baptist, Trover Health system had a long history of delivering quality healthcare to the people of western Kentucky.

History of Trover Health System

For more than 55 years, the work of Trover Clinic and Regional Medical Center have supported one another in a mission to provide highly advanced health care to western Kentucky and beyond.

Helping Regional Medical Center, Trover Clinic and Trover Foundation become what they are today took the hard work and dedication of many people, including Dr. Loman C. Trover. Dr. Trover had a vision for rural Kentucky more than 40 years ago.

Dr. Trover believed that people who live in rural communities deserve access to the same level of high-quality, comprehensive care as those who live in urban areas. A family doctor himself, Trover worked in 1953 to build a group practice and medical support system which would provide this level of care to the people of western Kentucky. He set out to form a partnership of physicians who would bring the community not only their medical expertise, but also a sincere concern for the people they would serve.

Dr. Trover practiced in Earlington his first years out of medical school and became very disturbed at the scope of medicine available in western Kentucky. "We did not have the means to diagnose and treat even the simplest problems," he said. "Doctors were scattering patients to Evansville, to Nashville, to Louisville-even to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Patients were going out of here in droves for the most minor of situations, thus creating a real hardship for both the patients and their families. This bothered me greatly. I felt we had to take more responsibility for our patients care, and for the consequences of our decisions."

With that in mind, Dr. Trover attempted to change things by starting a group practice which was to be a facility that would offer a full range of medical services. That could only be done, he knew, by creating a medical community to attract and retain a wide range of physicians. Trover and his brother, Faull, began their search in 1952 for a diverse group of doctors who would share their vision.

Dr. John Haynes, who had extensive training in orthopedics from a Memphis hospital, joined the practice, as did Dr. Fred Scott, a family practitioner with extensive training in internal medicine. Dr. Merle M. Mahr, who had been described as one of the finest young surgeons available, soon accepted the offer to join the Trover group. The five founding members of Trover Clinic embarked on their mission which would result in the largest group medical practice in the state of Kentucky.