The hospital was a two-story white brick building atop a hill on Peachtree Street in downtown Murphy.

[7] The 22-bed Murphy General Hospital was built by Dr. F. V. Taylor in 1941 and closed in July 1969 due to insufficient staff and property.

[12][13] In January 1974 the Murphy Town Council approved spending $4,000 on a study to see whether constructing a new hospital was feasible.

[16] After the FAA halted helicopter landings near the hospital due to unsafe conditions, the medical center built and opened a dedicated heliport in September 1985.

[17] In October 1985, Atlanta-based Health Southeast took over management of the hospital from SunHealth and Jerry Hummel was appointed as administrator.

[23] In 2023, Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital served as incident command post during the 5,000-acre Collett Ridge Fire.

[24] In late 2024, the hospital opened a nature garden for staff and patients in a trapped space between buildings.