The Deborah Heart and Lung Center is located in Browns Mills,

Burlington County Burlington County is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The county is the largest by area in New Jersey. Its county seat is Mount Holly.

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States. It is the only

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

in the

Delaware Valley The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...

region that focuses exclusively on

cardiac The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to t ...

vascular The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away f ...

, and

lung disease The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...

. Deborah Heart and Lung Center has 89 beds with a full-service

ambulatory care Ambulatory care or outpatient care is medical care provided on an outpatient basis, including diagnosis, observation, consultation, treatment, intervention, and rehabilitation services. This care can include advanced medical technology and procedu ...

center. In March 2010, Deborah Heart and Lung Center opened an

emergency department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...

operated by Lourdes Medical Center of

Burlington County Burlington County is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The county is the largest by area in New Jersey. Its county seat is Mount Holly.

. The emergency department offers

ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...

s and walk-in patients access to emergency care.

History

Dora Moness Shapiro established Deborah in 1922 as a

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

sanitorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

to provide care for those who could not afford it. Her motto was "There is no price tag on life!" Legend has it that Deborah's rural Burlington County location was the key to recovery because of its therapeutic

Jersey Pine Barrens The New Jersey Pine Barrens, also known as the Pinelands or simply the Pines, is the largest remaining example of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecosystem, stretching across more than seven counties of New Jersey. Two other large, contiguou ...

air. In reality, thousands of tuberculosis patients were medically treated and successfully cured by Deborah physicians. In 1934, a woman named Clara Franks became a tuberculosis patient at Deborah. She was cured the next year. Following her discharge, she began to work for Deborah as a

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

and fundraising assistant. She began organizing community-based chapters to support Deborah, laying the foundation for the Deborah Hospital Foundation of today. In the late 1940s, with the development of

antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...

s that could arrest tuberculosis, Deborah began to shift emphasis to treating

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

s. On July 28, 1958, pioneering heart surgeon Dr. Charles Bailey performed Deborah's first on-site

heart surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to corr ...

on three-year-old

Bill DiMartino Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

, followed by

Dora Hansen Dora may stand for: *Dora (given name) Places United States *Dora, Alabama * Dora, Arkansas *Dora, Missouri *Dora, New Mexico * Dora, Oregon *Dora, Pennsylvania *Mount Dora, Florida Other countries *Lake Dora (Tasmania) *Lake Dora (Western A ...

, age 36. In 1959, Deborah made an official name change to Deborah Hospital. In 1973, Deborah Hospital made another official name change to Deborah Heart and Lung Center, which still remains today.

Deborah Hospital Foundation

Founded in 1974, Deborah Hospital Foundation is the fund raising arm of Deborah Heart and Lung Center.

Services offered

* Clinical Interventional Cardiology * Outpatient Pediatric Cardiology * Electromechanical Therapy Institute * Pulmonary Medicine * Institute for Sleep Medicine * Balance Center * Vascular and Endovascular Medicine * Vein Center * Thoracic and Cardiothoracic Surgery

References

{{authority control Buildings and structures in Burlington County, New Jersey Hospitals in New Jersey Hospitals established in 1922 Tuberculosis sanatoria in the United States Pemberton Township, New Jersey