MMC History

Dr. Carl Adams and Dr. S.C. Garrison founded Murfreesboro Medical Clinic (MMC) in July 1949. Their partnership and practice changed the course of medicine in Rutherford County. Together, Drs. Adams and Garrison brought the theory of multi-specialty group practice to reality, here in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Dr. Adams received his Medical Degree in 1940 from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and was licensed by the state of Tennessee in 1941. He served a General Surgical and Pathology residency at Nashville General Hospital from 1941-1944. He practiced in Woodbury with his father from 1945-1947. Dr. Adams returned to Nashville in 1947 to serve a residency in Chest Surgery at the Davidson County Tuberculosis Hospital from 1947-1948. He was received as a Fellow in both the American College of Surgeons and the American College of Chest Physicians in 1948. He retired from active medical practice in 1971, after which he devoted full time to his interest in nursing home care and geriatric medicine. Dr. Adams founded National Health Corporation in 1971, which has become one of the largest corporations devoted exclusively to nursing home care. Dr. Adams died September 7, 1994.

Dr. Garrison received his Medical Degree from Vanderbilt University in 1943. He served a Rotating Internship and a Residence in Medicine at Nashville General Hospital 1944-1946. He served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1946-1948. He then returned to Nashville General Hospital to serve a one-year residency in Pathology. He received certification by the American Board of Internal Medicine in 1955. During Dr. Garrison’s years of practice in Murfreesboro, he initiated the Respiratory Care Service at Rutherford Hospital (now St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital) in 1968, was a major influence in establishing the Rutherford County Ambulance Service, and provided the leadership in establishing the Coronary Care Unit at Rutherford Hospital in 1967. In 1987, St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital honored Dr. Garrison by naming the unit "The Dr. S.C. Garrison Coronary Care Unit." In 1986, Dr. Garrison retired from active medical practice. Dr. Garrison died November 9, 2001.

The success of our patient-first philosophy led to the need to expand our walls several times to house all 20 plus specialties within one location. Murfreesboro Medical Clinic was originally located at 103 North Spring Street. In 1954, Dr. Adams, Dr. Garrison, and three other associates moved their offices to 420 University Street, which is now NHC. In 1972, the Clinic incorporated and became Murfreesboro Medical Clinic, P.A. As growth continued, a larger facility was needed and the first part of the Highland Avenue building was constructed in 1979. The clinic had 13 physicians on staff when we moved into our 38,000 square feet of office space. By 1989, we had 25 physicians and needed to expand again. We began construction of our 37,000 square feet addition, which included 7,500 square feet dedicated to an outpatient surgery center, and moved into the area in February 1990. An addition of 49,000 square feet was completed in December 1997. With this addition, our medical staff stood at more than 70 physicians. Today, we have nearly 600 associates on staff and reside in a three-story building on Garrison Drive that opened on February 11, 2013.