J. H. Rush

Jesse Hackley (J.H.) Rush (born September 6, 1868 in De Kalb, Mississippi &mdash;died January 22, 1931) was an American physician who founded the first private hospital in Meridian, Mississippi.

One of the sons of William Vaughn Rush (1847–1916) and Julia Rush Key (1848–1907), Rush married Mary Hunnicutt (1874–1954) and this union produced three children: Lowry, Dorothy and Leslie. His sons Lowry and Leslie would follow in their father's footsteps and join the medical profession; Leslie Rush's contribution to orthopedic medicine is the invention of the "Rush Pin", which revolutionized the treatment of bone fractures and has continued to be used in the 21st century.

In 1915, J. H. Rush founded Rush's Infirmary, an 18-bed facility that became the first private hospital in Meridian, Mississippi. When Rush's Infirmary opened its doors, the staff was comprised of Dr. and Mrs. Rush, one registered nurse and six student nurses. Rapid growth soon followed.

Dr. J. H. Rush died at the start of the 1930s at the age of 62. His work continued, however, and in 1947, the hospital became a non-profit institution and was renamed Rush Memorial Hospital in commemoration of its founder. Since 1965, the facility has been known as Rush Foundation Hospital.

In the first decade of the 2000s, Rush is a comprehensive healthcare network providing medical care to people throughout East Central Mississippi and West Central Alabama.