Penrose Hospital is a 364-bed hospital hospital located in
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
and owned by Penrose-Saint Francis Health Services. The campus includes Penrose Hospital, the Penrose Cancer Center, the E Tower building, the Penrose Pavilion, and John Zay House.
Founded in 1890 as the
Glockner Tuberculosis Sanatorium, it became the Penrose Tumor Institute (now the Penrose Cancer Center) in 1939. In 1959, it became Penrose Hospital.
It provides medical and surgical services, and specializes in the treatment of cardiac conditions and cancer. It offers emergency trauma care as well as physical rehabilitation.
History
In 1890, the hospital was founded as
Glockner Tuberculosis Sanatorium, by Marie Gynne Glockner after the death of her husband, Albert Glockner, from
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 ...
. The first superintendent of the hospital was Dr. B.P. Anderson, who founded St. Francis Hospital. The
Sisters of Charity
Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, but others are unrelated. The ...
of Cincinnati, Ohio assumed ownership of the hospital in 1893. It had sanatoriums and hospitals in
Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo County, Colorado ...
and
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
.
During the first two decades of the 20th century the sanitarium became the Glockner Sanatorium and Hospital, a general acute care hospital, and performed lung removal and the first bronchoscopy west of
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
. In 1939, it was selected as the site of the Penrose Tumor Institute, later the Penrose Cancer Center.
Spencer Penrose
Spencer Penrose (November 2, 1865 - December 7, 1939) was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. He made his fortune from mining, ore processing, and real estate speculation in Colorado and other parts of the West. He founded the Utah Copper ...
established the institute to treat people with cancer, like him, with the latest technology. The Penrose Cancer Center Pavilion was dedicated in 1941 by Spencer Penrose's widow, Julie Penrose. It became "one of the most famous hospitals in the United States" offering research, diagnosis and treatment, including radiation therapy, of cancer. A new nurses residence, Margery Reed building, was constructed from donations by
Mrs. Verner Z. Reed, in memory of her daughter Margery Reed Mayo. It is now a medical office building. The name of the hospital was changed to Glockner-Penrose Hospital in 1947, at the suggestion of Marie Gynne Glockner. Julie Penrose donated $3.2 million for the construction of an addition to the hospital for more hospital beds. It was dedicated in 1959 and the hospital name was changed to Penrose Hospital. From 1947 to 1987 the hospital saw the addition of intensive care, outpatient care, emergency trauma and surgical facilities. There was also an addition of a new cancer center.
The
Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati
The Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati were founded in 1852 by Mother Margaret Farrell George, by the separation of the community from the Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland. the motherhouse of the community is at Mount Saint Joseph, Ohio.
H ...
, Ohio and St. Francis of Colorado Springs organizations were consolidated and in 1990 became the Penrose-St. Francis Health Services. In 1995,
Centura Health Centura may refer to:
*Chrysler Centura, a midsize car which was produced by Chrysler Australia between 1975 and 1978
*Centura Bank, a bank headquartered in Rocky Mount, North Carolina until 2001, when Royal Bank of Canada acquired the company and ...
, a nonprofit health system across Colorado, was formed by the Sisters of Charity Health Services Colorado and the Porter Care Adventist Health System.
Hospital
Buildings
Penrose Hospital (2222 N. Nevada Avenue) has an inpatient Hospice and Palliative Care department, developed as the result of a partnership between the Penrose-St. Francis Health Services and Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care (PPHPC). The hospital has a
helipad
A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft.
While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard s ...
(helicopter landing pad).
The hospital's five-story E Tower building contains a reception area, its critical care and cardiovascular units, administrative and medical offices, gift shop, pharmacy and an employee gym.
The Penrose Pavilion (2312 N. Nevada Avenue) is a four-story medical office building on the grounds of Penrose Hospital but is owned by Westfield Development Company. Occupants are the Colorado Springs Neurological Associates, the Penrose Hospital Woman's Diagnostic Center, and medical offices.
The John Zay House (corner of Tejon and Madison) provides lodging for the families of Penrose Hospital patients who are critically ill, as well as patients receiving treatment at the Penrose Cancer Center and their families. People that obtain treatment from the Penrose Cancer Center include people from other Colorado towns and Kansas. It is named for John Zay, who was the hospital chaplain for 14 years after surviving cancer. He died following an accident in 2004.
Departments and specialties
Within Penrose Hospital some of the specialty departments are:
* Bariatric Weight Loss Surgery
* Breast Care Center
* Cancer Center
* Critical Care
* Emergency / Trauma
* Hospice and Palliative Care
* Imaging / Radiology
* Surgical Services
Amenities
Penrose Hospital has the Penrose Place cafeteria, Penrose Cafe and Bistro, and the Penrose Pavilion Coffee Bar. Other amenities include an outpatient pharmacy, women's boutique, gift shop, and wireless internet access throughout the building. Penrose Hospital is a tobacco free campus.
A new chapel was opened at Penrose Hospital, utilizing stained glass from the previous old Sacred Heart Chapel on hospital grounds. Services may be viewed live from patients rooms or via taped recordings.
Webb Medical Library, on the hospital's basement floor, is open to medical staff, patients and the public. It has videos, books, journals and computers. It has a "wellness" room with games, videos and novelties to inspire laughter, which is known to reduce stress hormones, like adrenaline, and increase endorphines which help people feel better. Joseph Michelli, a staff psychologist at Penrose Hospital's Division of Behavior Medicine, uses laughter therapy to help patients with severe depression or help manage fears of cancer patients.
Parking
Penrose's surface parking and five-story garage provide space for 1,680 vehicles.
Parking lots are on the east side of the hospital. Complimentary valet service is available at the Main Hospital Entrance from 5:30 am to 8 pm Monday thru Friday and closed on major holidays. The first floor of the parking garage off of Jackson Street has several spaces allocated for Radiation Therapy patients. There are several spaces on the second floor for patients of Dr. Young in Medical Oncology.
Excellency Awards
In 2001, HealthGrades gave Penrose-St. Francis Health Services its Excellence Awards in women's health, joint replacement, pulmonary care, and critical care. It also named it as one of the top 50 U.S. hospitals - the only hospital in Colorado to receive the distinction.
In 2010, Penrose-St. Francis Health Services received 10 five-star ratings in HealthGrades "Hospital Quality in America" report. The five-star ratings included 3 for orthopedic care and 2 for pulmonary care. Due to complication rates, gall bladder removal and bariatric surgery received one-star rating. The rest of the procedures received three-star ratings.
Notes
References
Further reading
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External links
Penrose-St. Francis Health Services
{{authority control
Organizations based in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Buildings and structures in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Hospitals in Colorado
Trauma centers
Hospitals established in 1890