Historical Collections Historical Timeline Stories Virtual Tour
 

1751 - 1800

1801 - 1850

1851 - 1900

1901 - 1950

1951 - Today

1950 – TODAY

1957
The 44th Street and Market Street location is closed when the city exercises the right of eminent domain to bring the subway up through the hospital grounds.

1959
The hospital builds the North Building, a modern facility on the 49th Street and Market Street grounds, consolidating all patient facilities in one location known as The Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital.

1961
The Preston Maternity Hospital affiliates with Pennsylvania Hospital, and in 1971 the Preston Building opens, housing maternity services, laboratories and educational facilities. It is named for Dr. Jonas Preston, a 19th century Philadelphia obstetrician and philanthropist.

In the closing decades of the 20th century, Pennsylvania Hospital is a source of hope for childless couples, of reassurance to women experiencing high risk pregnancies and of life itself to newborn infants at risk. The hospital's work in reproductive fertility is among the most important being conducted anywhere.

1965
The state's first outpatient community mental health facility is founded at Pennsylvania Hospital - The Hall Mercer Community Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center. It serves its immediate neighborhood and provides ambulatory services, short-term adult inpatient care, child and family mental health services, developmental disabilities treatment and child development programs. In 1969 the Center moves to its own building.

1976
The 225th anniversary of the founding of Pennsylvania Hospital and the year of the nation's bicentennial celebration, the historical Pine Building is restored. To complete the 25-year development program begun in the 1960s, and in preparation for the new Core Building and Gallery Pavilion, the Outpatient Building is demolished, as well as the Elm Building and its connecting passageways. Design elements from the old structures become a part of the new construction. During this time period the hospital's statue of William Penn is also revitalized at the Center for Archaeometry at Washington University of St. Louis.

1978
Pennsylvania Hospital is home to the first Antenatal Testing Unit (ATU) in the region.

1985
The first GIFT (Gamete IntraFallopian Transfer) pregnancy in Philadelphia is achieved, laying the groundwork for Pennsylvania Hospital's role in assisted reproductive technologies in the years to come. This is one of the first GIFT programs introduced in the United States.

1986
The Adult Day Health Center is opened. Providing medically supervised daytime care and comprehensive health and rehabilitation services for disabled and chronically ill older adults, it is the first hospital-based adult day care in Philadelphia. The Center becomes a leader in the field of adult day care.

1987
Pennsylvania Hospital is home to two obstetrical firsts: the first Birthing Suite in a tertiary care hospital in the state is opened, and the first gestational carrier and egg donor programs in the Delaware Valley are begun to complement Pennsylvania Hospital's existing fertility services.

1992
A milestone in the volume of joint replacements is reached: 10,000. Pennsylvania Hospital is number one in the country in total joint replacements.

1995
Pennsylvania Hospital is the first in the region to achieve 1,000 live births from In-vitro fertilization, GIFT and other assisted reproductive technologies.

1996
The first Perinatal Evaluation and Treatment Unit (PETU) in the area is staffed by perinatologists to assist in the evaluation of high-risk situations that develop during labor and delivery.

1997
In the face of shrinking revenues from insurance providers, the hospital decides to sell its West Philadelphia psychiatric care facility. Behavioral health services, for the first time in over 150 years, move back to the 8th Street campus.

For the first time in its history, and to accommodate the changes in the healthcare arena, Pennsylvania Hospital's Board of Managers decides to merge with another historic Philadelphia institution, the University of Pennsylvania Health System. The University of Pennsylvania, also founded by Benjamin Franklin, traces its origins back to 1740.

1998
Pennsylvania Hospital becomes the home of the Penn Neurological Institute (PNI). The PNI houses the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center which is ranked by U.S. News and World Report as highest in the Philadelphia region and in the top ten nationally for medical and surgical treatments of neurological disorders.

Pennsylvania Hospital builds the Women's Imaging Center which offers mammography, breast ultrasound, stereotactic breast biopsy (a minimally invasive method of monitoring breast lumps), and bone density testing for osteoporosis. Radiologists interpret results during a woman's initial visit, setting Pennsylvania Hospital apart from most hospitals in the region.

Pennsylvania Hospital performs nearly 17,600 surgical procedures each year, ranking it among the top five most active surgical facilities in the region.

The Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Pennsylvania Hospital is one of only a few services of its kind on the East Coast, and is the premier provider in the Delaware Valley.

Pennsylvania Hospital is chosen by the City of Philadelphia as one of only five places in the region to provide 24-hour emergency psychiatric care. The Hospital creates the Crisis Response Center within its Hall Mercer Community Mental Health Mental Retardation Center.

1999
Pennsylvania Hospital continues to be a regional leader in orthopaedic care. Services are provided by Penn Orthopaedic Institute, the University of Pennsylvania Health System's faculty practice, and Booth Bartolozzi Balderston Orthopaedics. Together, they provide services under the brand name of Penn Orthopaedics. Penn Orthopaedics includes more full-time orthopaedic specialists than any program in the region, and these doctors perform more orthopaedic procedures, including total knee replacements, than anyone else in the Delaware Valley.

The Penn Neurological Institute expands with the addition of the ALS Association Center at Pennsylvania Hospital and offers the most comprehensive, current care for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease) patients in the Philadelphia region.

The Joan Karnell Cancer Center at Pennsylvania Hospital moves to its new home, the historic Farm Journal building on Washington Square. The Center contains a comprehensive outpatient hematology/oncology service, a state-of-the-art chemotherapy suite, and a family education center in a single location.

2000
The Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organization sends the following message to the hospital upon completion of its year 2000 survey: "The team would like to express to your staff our finding of their exceptional dedication to their hospital and patients. You have created a model of quality and caring for both your patients and the community you serve."

Pennsylvania Hospital considerably expands its rehabilitation services by creating an acute inpatient unit in the hospital and an outpatient rehabilitation center for patients with movement disorders in the Penn Neurological Institute.

2001
Pennsylvania Hospital celebrates its 250th anniversary on May 11.

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