Penn Presbyterian Medical Center ("Presby") is a

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 ...

located in the University City section of

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...

. It was founded b
Reverend Ephraim D. Saunders
in 1871 and formally joined the

University of Pennsylvania Health System The University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) is a major multi-hospital health system headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. UPHS and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania together comprise Penn Medicine, ...

in 1995. Penn Presbyterian is spread out on a campus bounded by Market Street, Powelton Avenue, 38th Street, and Sloan Street.

History

Presbyterian was founded in 1871 by the Alliance of Philadelphia Presbyteries as a 45-bed facility on . The Reverend Dr. Ephraim D. Saunders, a Presbyterian minister, dedicated the land in memory of his son Courtland, who was shot and killed in service on September 21, 1862, in a battle during the Civil War. Reverend Saunders said at the dedication, "A few days before the battle of Antietam... he ourtlandpassed with me from his tent in the forest... In view of the perils of war... he recommended that in the case of his death... the property should all be donated to some prominent... charity." The incorporators declared the purpose was "to provide medical and surgical aid and nursing for the sick and disabled..." Care and nursing was granted to the indigent of Philadelphia, funded by donations from individuals and Presbyterian churches, to fulfill its Christian mission. This commitment was renewed in 1952, when the trustees of the Hospital voted against moving to the more affluent suburbs, choosing to remain in West Philadelphia. The original name was "Presbyterian Hospital of Philadelphia." It has since grown into a 300-bed institution on with various nationally recognized medical institutes, specialty centers and research programs. Presbyterian's School of Nursing, founded in 1887, has a long history of imbuing the medical center with an increased awareness and importance placed on the value on nursing in the treatment of patients. As a result, nurses at Presbyterian are recognized by the medical center for improving the quality of care it strives to provide. The Hospital remained independent but formally affiliated with Penn in 1965, changing its name to Presbyterian–University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. It was renamed the Presbyterian Medical Center of Philadelphia in 1989. By the mid-1990s, senior management at Presbyterian Hospital realized due to increasing costs and shrinking revenues, an independent hospital the size of Presbyterian might not survive. In 1995, Presbyterian Medical Center, as it was then known, joined the

(UPHS). This has provided them access to and benefits from the resources of the health system, as well as the university's

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...

. The name was changed to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.

Specialties

Pulmonary care

The Philadelphia Heart Institute was the region's first

outpatient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health care ...

pulmonary care facility. The Scheie Eye Institute (ranked #17 in ophthalmology by U.S. News & World Report) has received national attention for expertise and service. Presbyterian is also the primary location of Penn Orthopaedics (ranked #13 by U.S. News & World Report). It is the designated Level 1

trauma center A trauma center (or trauma centre) is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major trauma, major traumatic injuries such as Falling (accident), falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. A trauma cent ...

for Penn Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania, which was located at the

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) is the flagship hospital of Penn Medicine and is located in the University City section of West Philadelphia. It is consistently ranked as one of the top hospitals in the United States. Histor ...

until 2014.

Ophthalmology

The Scheie Eye Institute is the department of

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located within the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and is a leading center for research and treatment of disorders of the eye. In 2007, Scheie was the leading recipient of funding from the

National Eye Institute The National Eye Institute (NEI) was established in 1968. It is located in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. The NEI is one of 27 institutes and centers of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the US Department of Health and ...

(NEI), part of the

NIH The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

. In 2006, Scheie was the NEI's #2 recipient. The institute is named after Harold G. Scheie, M.D., the medical school's first resident in ophthalmology who later became the head of the department. As department head he pioneered many new treatments and contributed significantly to the literature. After years of fundraising by Scheie, a new 72 bed, 6 story facility was opened in 1972.''History of Ophthalmology''
at UPenn.

Musculoskeletal care

Penn Medicine University City, located on the hospital's campus at 3737 Market Street, is an affiliated outpatient facility and advanced treatment center specializing in musculoskeletal care.

References

External links

Official website
* ttp://www.newcourtland.org/about/history-of-commitment/ NewCourtland Senior Services {{authority control Hospitals in Philadelphia

Health System Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

Teaching hospitals in Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania University City, Philadelphia Trauma centers