Our History
Dr. Earl McBride was born in 1891 and grew up in Kansas and Oklahoma. He graduated college from Epworth University, now Oklahoma City University, in 1910. McBride had a deep desire to study medicine, so following his undergraduate degree, he enrolled at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. In 1912, with 2 years of credit in medicine, he transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he completed his medical degree.
As with many young men in the early 1900’s, Dr. McBride was drafted in military service for World War I. He was discharged from the United States Army in January 1919. Following his discharge, he came to Oklahoma City to practice general surgery. Upon his arrival, many physicians encouraged him to take over an orthopedic practice belonging to Dr. Robert L. Hull who died during his Army service of influenza and pneumonia.
Dr. Hull had received his orthopedic training at the Hospital for Ruptured and Crippled in New York City and had operated his orthopedic practice since 1915. Dr. McBride recognized he was deficient in orthopedics. His training was specialized to general surgery, so he was hesitant to assume the role of an orthopedist.
However, Mrs. Hull and McBride’s dear friend, Dr. A.B. Chase, convinced him to assume the practice and move into Dr. Hull’s office on the 2nd Floor of the Colcord Building. An area of orthopedics that McBride did not feel completely comfortable practicing was pediatrics. So McBride traveled to New York City and entered a service program at the Hospital for Ruptured and Crippled under the tutorage of renowned orthopedic specialists, Dr. Royal Whitman and Dr. Virgil Gibney.
When Dr. McBride returned from New York City in 1920, he had a full realization that much could be done for so many needing orthopedic assistance. He also believed a great deal could be done for underprivileged crippled children if they could be identified for treatment. At first, no one seemed to recognize the value of helping crippled children because there were few children identified in the area.
Fortunately, a woman named Mildred Hamlin worked for Dr. McBride. Her husband was a member of the Oklahoma City Rotary Club and she thought Dr. McBride should seek membership to increase awareness for the need to care for crippled children. Dr. McBride joined the Rotary Club and a great partnership began between Dr. McBride and Rotary Club leadership/membership.
Together, they identified the need across the state to serve crippled children and advocate for their health and welfare. In 1923, SB 311 was enacted. It was the first law in Oklahoma State history for crippled children. The law provided that crippled children could be committed to the University Hospital through the County Judge. The medical staff was to provide treatment and no doctor was allowed any compensation for services rendered.
In 1923, Dr. McBride founded the McBride Clinic. It all began in a little red brick home with four, upstairs rooms that served as hospital rooms for patients who required an overnight stay. It was the first facility of its kind in the southwestern part of the country. It was such a small, quaint facility that Dr. McBride’s neighbor cooked all the meals for patients.
In 1925, Dr. McBride established a hospital in connection with the McBride Clinic. The name was the ‘Reconstruction Hospital’ and it was located at 717 North Robinson Street. In 1926, orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Elias Margo joined the practice. Even though the Clinic and Hospital operated during the Great Depression, they continued to grow and serve a great purpose as oil was discovered in Oklahoma. The influx of injured oil workers impacted the healthcare landscape and the McBride name was at the forefront of the oil boom.
In 1938, a new building was constructed at the corner of 10th & Dewey due to patient needs reaching capacity levels. At this time, the Reconstruction Hospital name was changed to Bone & Joint Hospital. A crippled children’s ward was included and the institution was approved as a crippled children’s hospital under the Crippled Children’s Act. The success of the hospital warranted further expansion and Dr. McBride added multiple staff including Dr. William K. Ishmael, Dr. Howard B. Shorbe and other orthopedic and rheumatology specialists.
Beginning in 1943, McBride was approved as a training institution for residents and worked closely with medical students pursuing orthopedics as a specialty. Students were paired with world-class orthopedists to further their education and experience.
In 1957, Dr. McBride decided he had reached a pinnacle moment in his career and chose to let others continue the legacy he built. He elected to officially retire and sell his interest in the hospital. However, Dr. McBride maintained a consistent schedule seeing patients three days a week while teaching and mentoring physicians at the clinic and hospital.
The decades that followed involved new specializations and the introduction of a Sports Medicine department at McBride in 1980. The addition of Sports Medicine propelled McBride to become the premier choice for high school, collegiate and professional medical coverage in the state. The 80’s also served as another period of expansion for McBride. A new hospital structure and parking garage were built in Midtown at 10th & Dewey. The new facility, in addition to a satellite clinic in Norman, allowed McBride to meet the growing patient demand for services in the southern part of the state.
In 1995, the Sisters of St. Mary (SSM) Corporation acquired Bone & Joint Hospital from McBride and in 2001, McBride merged with Oklahoma Orthopedics, Inc. which created an opportunity for the physician group to expand and open an additional outpatient clinic in the Edmond area.
In 2004, McBride held groundbreaking ceremonies to introduce the construction of a 97,000 sq. ft. full-service orthopedic hospital. The physicians envisioned providing a state-of-the-art facility where McBride staff could oversee the continuum of care, ensuring high quality at each stage. In September 2005, the new hospital opened as an 80-bed licensed, inpatient orthopedic specialty hospital with an acute and rehabilitation unit under the name McBride Clinic Orthopedic Hospital.
McBride continued to thrive and additional orthopedic specialists joined the organization, so land purchase became a top priority to prepare for the future. Large tracts of land were purchased at Britton and Broadway Extension.
In 2015, groundbreaking ceremonies were held once again as McBride faced the realization it must move from its original location in Midtown to accommodate the needs of its ever-growing patient population. McBride physicians had dreamed of opening a new medical office building/outpatient clinic connected to the hospital in order to consolidate orthopedic services and streamline services toward a more convenient, patient-driven campus.
The proposed 126,000 square-foot medical office building was a monumental moment in the history of the organization. Its opening in Fall, 2017 marked an unprecedented move from Midtown to North OKC for the organization and was accomplished over a period of three months with no closure dates or cancellation of services. The new $29 million facility includes outpatient orthopedic clinic space with more than 79 exam rooms, outpatient X-ray, MRI, outpatient laboratory services, outpatient IV infusion, outpatient physical therapy and non-clinical space, café, retail pharmacy and valet services.
During the construction phase of McBride’s medical office building, another groundbreaking ceremony took place to usher in the construction of a new outpatient surgery center located on the hospital campus. Once again, physicians turned the page on a new chapter at McBride with the development of a state-of-the-art facility that features 6 full-size Orthopedic OR Rooms, 24 Phase 1 Prep/Recovery Bays and 12 Phase II PACU Beds. Additional surgical suites provide a convenient alternative for many of the McBride’s outpatient procedures focused on the knee, shoulder, foot, ankle, hip, spine and pain management.
The McBride Outpatient Surgery Center opened on June 3, 2019. Currently, McBride Orthopedic Hospital is proud to employ more than 850 staff throughout the organization.
McBride Orthopedic Hospital is physician-owned.
