Pennsylvania Hospital

thumb|The emergency room entrance at Pennsylvania Hospital at 9th and [[Spruce Street (Philadelphia)|Spruce streets]]

Pennsylvania Hospital is a private, non-profit, 515-bed teaching hospital located at 800 Spruce Street in Center City Philadelphia, The hospital was founded on May 11, 1751 by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Bond. It was the second public hospital in the United States (after only Bellevue Hospital) and had its first surgical amphitheater. and its first medical library. It is part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

The hospital's main building, dating to 1756, is a National Historic Landmark.

The first building at the hospital was opened on February 6, 1752, on High Street (now Market Street). Elizabeth Gardner, a Quaker widow, was appointed Matron of the hospital. As the hospital received support of the leading families in Philadelphia, its permanence was secured, and Samuel Rhoads was appointed architect of the new building.

Thomas Stretch was among the leading citizens of Philadelphia and one of the founders of Pennsylvania Hospital. He was a member of the Union Fire Company, also known as Benjamin Franklin's Bucket Brigade, and a founder of the social club known as Schuylkill Fishing Company, and the club's first governor in 1732, re-elected annually until his death in 1765. Stretch was a director of the Philadelphia Contributionship (Hand-in-Hand fire mark) from 1758 to 1761.

In The Pennsylvania Gazette on May 29, 1755, Thomas Stretch appears as one of the largest subscribers with Benjamin Franklin and others to the fund for the Pennsylvania Hospital. The Stretch family and Benjamin Franklin each provided half of the original capital to fund the hospital. The list of subscribers reads:

{|class="wikitable"

! Subscriber !! £ !! Shillings

| Thomas Stretch || 10 || 0

| Joseph Stretch || 5 || 8

| Isaac Stretch || 10 || 0

| Benjamin Franklin || 25 || 0

| Robert Harding || 1 || 7

Thomas Stretch and Joseph Stretch were sons of Peter Stretch (1670–1746) and Margery Hall Stretch (1668–1746). It is likely the reference to Isaac Stretch is to Isaac Stretch (1714–1770), son of Daniel Stretch (1694–1746), another son of Peter and Margery Stretch. The Stretch family were Quakers.

Joseph Stretch, mentioned above, was at this time "His Majesty's Collector of Excise for the City and County of Philadelphia", as may be seen from a notice in the Pennsylvania Gazette of October 28, 1756; and subsequently, in 1768, he was "His Majesty’s Collector of Customs, etc., for the Port of Philadelphia". Robert Harding was pastor of St. Joseph's Church.

In 1755, the cornerstone was laid for the East Wing of what would become the hospital's permanent location at 8th and Pine Streets. All of the patients were transferred from the temporary hospital to the permanent hospital on December 17, 1756. The first admission of a new patient occurred on the following day.

Pennsylvania Hospital gained a reputation as a center of innovation and medical advancement, particularly in the area of maternity. It was a teaching hospital from its very beginning, when Bond would lead rounds through what is now the east wing of the main building. 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. Care of the mentally ill was removed 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 mentally ill in the 19th century.

20th century

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 has served as a center 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 the Pacific theater of World War II.

The seal of the hospital, chosen by Franklin and Bond, incorporates the biblical story of the Good Samaritan; it includes the sentence "Take Care of Him and I will repay Thee".

In 1996, Patricia A. Ford established the bloodless medicine program at Pennsylvania Hospital and performed the first successful bloodless stem-cell transplant.

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

21st century

In 2001, Pennsylvania Hospital celebrated its 250th anniversary. The Center for Transfusion-Free Medicine at Pennsylvania Hospital has evolved into a major national bloodless center that treats more than 1300 inpatients per year. According to US News & World Report Pennsylvania Hospital is ranked 7th among hospitals in the state of Pennsylvania and 3rd among 12 hospitals ranked in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. It also achieved a high-performing status across six subspecialties.

Internal Medicine Residency

The 2018 Becker's Hospital Review listed the internal medicine residency program at Pennsylvania Hospital 19th in the country. According to the Doximity residency Navigator 2024-2025 internal medicine rankings, in the category "Reputation" Pennsylvania Hospital is 31st in the country of 634 programs.

Obstetrics & Gynecology Residency

According to the Doximity residency Obstetrics & Gynecology rankings, in the category "Reputation" Pennsylvania Hospital is 48th in the country of 298 programs.

Historic firsts

Historic library

thumb|Pennsylvania Hospital Historic Medical Library

In 1762, the first book for the hospital's medical library was donated by John Fothergill, a British friend of Franklin's. In 1847, the American Medical Association designated the library as the first, largest, and most important medical library in the United States. That year, in 1847, the library contained about 9,000 volumes. The collection now contains over 13,000 volumes The collection also contains several incunabula, books written before 1501, when the printed process was invented.

Physic garden

The Board of Managers first proposed the Physic Garden in 1774 to provide physicians with ingredients for medicines. 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 once used for medicines to stimulate the heart, ease toothaches, relieve indigestion, and cleanse wounds in the 18th century. This was followed in 1978 with the first Antenatal Testing Unit (ATU) in the region and in 1985 when the first GIFT (Gamete IntraFallopian Transfer) pregnancy in Philadelphia was achieved at the hospital. In 1987, Pennsylvania Hospital achieved two obstetrical firsts: the first birthing suite in a tertiary care hospital in the state was opened, and the first gestational carrier and egg donor programs in the Delaware Valley were begun to complement the hospital's existing fertility services. In 1995, the hospital was the first in the region to achieve 1,000 live births from in-vitro fertilization, GIFT, and other assisted reproductive technologies.

Notable physicians

Benjamin Rush, on staff from 1783 until 1813, he was a medical teacher, a social reformer, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Andrew von Eschenbach, intern, 1963, a director at biotechnology company BioTime, served as the 20th United States FDA Commissioner.
Patricia A. Ford, on staff since 1996, Director for the Center of Bloodless Medicine, performed the first bloodless stem cell transplant in 1995.
George Bacon Wood (1797–1879) served as physician at Pennsylvania Hospital for 24 years, president of the American Medical Association, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and the American Philosophical Society

Notes

References

External links

Pennsylvania Hospital, University of Pennsylvania Health System
Bloodless Medicine & Surgery Center, Pennsylvania Hospital
Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) documentation, filed under Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA: