Pennsylvania Hospital

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Pennsylvania Hospital
Established May 11, 1751
Construction Began 1752
Opened 1752
Current Status Active
Building Style Single Building
Architect(s) Samuel Rhoads / David Evans Jr.
Location Philadelphia, PA
Peak Patient Population 562 in August 1987



Penna Hospital 13.jpg

Pennsylvania Hospital was founded on May 11, 1751 by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Bond, as the first hospital in the United States. It is also home to the first surgical amphitheater and first medical library in America. It has been continuously active since its opening, and is now affiliated with the much larger University of Pennsylvania Health System. It should not be confused with the Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital, which was a facility in West Philadelphia employed as a psychiatric annex of the primary medical hospital.


Founding

In 1752, the first temporary building was opened on High (now Market) Street in Philadelphia for the treatment of the ill in Philadelphia. Elizabeth Gardner, a Quaker widow well known in the city, was appointed it's Matron. Prior to this time, medical treatment was reserved to private doctor visits to houses regional, no such professional medical facility had been established in colonial America. Much of the original funding for the site and its maintenance came from the Society of Friends, better known as the 'Quakers', who stressed the importance of public facilities in the young city.

In 1755, the cornerstone was laid for the East Wing of what would become the hospital's permanent location at 8th and Pine Streets. Patients were first admitted to the permanent hospital in 1756. The site continued to grow through the years with the addition of more wings, such as the West Wing of the building which was built in 1796. In 1762, the first book for the hospital's medical library was donated by John Fothergill, a British friend of Benjamin Franklin. In 1847, the American Medical Association designated the library as the first, largest, and most important medical library in the United States. The collection now contains over 13,000 volumes dating back to the 15th century--including medical and scientific volumes as well as books on natural history. The library includes the nation's most complete collection of medical books published between 1750 and 1850. The collection also contains several incunabula, books written before 1501, when the printed process was invented.

The top floor of Pennsylvania Hospital is the home of the nation's oldest surgical amphitheater. The amphitheater served as the operating room from 1804 through 1868. Surgeries were performed on sunny days between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm since there was no electricity at the time. The surgical amphitheater seats 180 and with those standing, up to 300 people might be present during any given surgical operation. It is open to the public for tours at certain hours of the weekday.

The Physic Garden is the jewel in the crown that makes up the greater part of the grounds of Pennsylvania Hospital gardens. The Board of Managers first proposed the Physic Garden in 1774, to provide physicians with ingredients for their prescribed medications. The idea was approved, but financial circumstances intervened and the project was delayed for two centuries. In 1976, the planting of the garden was the bicentennial project of the Philadelphia Committee of the Garden Club of America and the Friends of Pennsylvania Hospital. Located in front of the Pine Building's West Wing, the garden has plants that were used for medicines in the 18th century. Once used to stimulate the heart, ease toothaches, relieve indigestion and cleanse wounds, now their shaded respite provides healing of a more spiritual kind for patients and visitors alike.

Effects of spirituous liquors by Dr. Benjamin Rush, circa 1790

This early period of the hospital was noted for having two rather famous physicians on staff on staff, that of:

  • Benjamin Rush (1746-1813), who remained on the hospital staff from 1783 until 1813. Dr. Rush was a medical doctor, alienist, social reformer and signer of the Declaration of Independence. His family home in Byberry, PA stands adjacent to the former Philadelphia State Hospital. In 1812, Dr. Rush published the first textbook on the subject in the United States, 'Medical Inquiries and Observations upon the Diseases of the Mind'. He undertook to classify different forms of mental illness to theorize as to their causes and possible cures. Like many physicians at the time, Rush believed that many mental illnesses were caused by disruptions of the blood circulation, and treated them with devices meant to improve circulation to the brain, such as a restraining chair and a centrifugal spinning board. While Dr. Rush was uncertain what to do clinical for the mentally ill, he knew that chains and dungeons were not the answer. He took patients from that drudgery and placed them in a regular medical hospital setting. For this reason his approach is officially referred to as the 'Moral Therapy'.In honor of his service to the field of mental health care, the American Psychiatric Association uses Dr. Rush's image as part of their seal,as he is often regarding as the father of American Psychiatry, along side of Dr. Thomas Kirkbride.

The Institute

Care of the mentally ill was moved to West Philadelphia in 1841 with the construction of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, later known as The Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital. Under superintendent Thomas Story Kirkbride, the hospital developed a treatment philosophy that became the standard for care of the insane in the 19th century.

Pennsylvania Hospital gained a reputation as a center of innovation and medical advancement, particularly in the area of maternity. In its early years it was also known for its particularly advanced and humane facilities for mentally ill patients (at a time when mental illness was very poorly understood and patients were often treated very badly).

In 1950 Pennsylvania Hospital was recognized for becoming more highly specialized as it established, in addition to its sophisticated maternity programs, an intensive care unit for neurological patients, a coronary care unit, an orthopaedic institute, a diabetes center, a hospice, specialized units in oncology and urology and broadened surgical programs.

The hospital was also a center through the years for treating the war wounded. Patients were brought to the hospital for treatment in the Revolutionary War, the American Civil War and the Spanish American War, and units from the hospital were sent abroad to treat wounded in World War I and in World War II (to the Pacific theater).

The seal of the hospital, chosen by Franklin and Bond, incorporates the story of the Good Samaritan and the phrase "Take Care of Him and I will repay Thee" is used on it.

In 1997 Pennsylvania Hospital's Board of Managers made the decision to merge with the Penn Health System. The large Health System helps to support the formerly stand-alone hospital with its vast network of resources.

In 2001 Pennsylvania Hospital celebrated its 250th anniversary. It continues to be a center of innovation and excellence in medicine.

Images of Pennsylvania Hospital

Main Image Gallery: Pennsylvania Hospital


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