The family of John W. Harton Sr. donated eleven acres to build a hospital in 1964. A $236,000 Hill-Burton federal grant was received and in August, state and federal officials approved plans for construction. In November of that same year, Tullahoma citizens approved a $748,000 bond to supplement federal funds. On May 24, 1964, construction began on the $1.2 million hospital. Harton opened its doors on January 8, 1967 with 47 beds, 77 employees, and a 20 member medical staff. The first patient was admitted on January 10, a week earlier than planned, due to Coffee Medical Center overflowing.
In August 1970, intensive care and cardiac units opened on the third floor and in 1972 the third floor construction was completed. In April 1983, a $6.3 million expansion began to create a two-story addition of 38,000 square feet of new space. The Emergency Department moved from the rear of the hospital to the new front and construction was completed in 1984. In April 1997, an open house was held for the opening of the new Outpatient Pavilion.
Harton Regional Medical Center is presently a 137-licensed bed acute hospital. It is located at 1801 North Jackson Street in Tullahoma, in southern middle Tennessee. Harton has approximately 550 employees and is one of the largest employers in the area. There are over 80 full-time physicians on staff specializing in over 25 specialties.