University of Pennsylvania Health System Presbyterian Medical Center.

The Presbyterian Medical Center originated as a charitable institution named the Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia. Early in 1871, Rev. Ephraim D. Saunders, a Presbyterian minister, offered a two-and-a-half-acre property at 39th Street and Powelton Avenue to the Philadelphia Presbyterian Alliance for use as a hospital in memory of his son Courtland, who had been killed in service during the Civil War in September 1862. The Church accepted the offer and stipulated a mission for the future hospital as "to provide for the needs of the sick and disabled regardless of race, color or creed." On March 25, 1871, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania approved the hospital charter and a board of trustees was formed on April 3, the same year. On July 1, 1872, the Hospital with a 45-bed facility admitted its first patient.

The Hospital underwent great changes in the past over 130 years. It established its own training school for nurses as early as 1889. To meet the rapidly growing demand for its service, the Hospital expanded continually in its physical facilities throughout the twentieth century and became, by the 1990s, a modern medical center with a facility of over 300 beds located on approximately 16.5 acres. It has been a pioneer in a number of medical programs and home to several specialized patient-care services, including the Philadelphia Heart Institute and the Scheie Eye Institute. In nursing training, the Hospital established a second school of a different kind-the Presbyterian School of Practical Nursing-- in 1964 to solve the shortage of bed-side nursing personnel.

A major development, however, has been in its institutional relations. The Hospital developed close relations with the University of Pennsylvania in its early years as many of its staff held teaching positions at the Penn Medical School. The relationship was consolidated when the Hospital became formally affiliated with Penn in 1965 and changed its name to "Presbyterian-University of Pennsylvania Medical Center" on July 1 that year. While keeping the original mission of the Presbyterian Hospital, the Center now allowed the University of Pennsylvania to nominate one third of its Board of Trustees and was in a better position to serve as a clinical resource for the training of Penn Medical School students. On January 1, 1989, the Center was renamed as the Presbyterian Medical Center of Philadelphia.

As modern medicine and hospital industry further advanced, with the organization of health system increasingly more sophisticated and the gap between the needs and resources widening, both the Center and the University saw the merit of a closer relationship. On June 30, 1995, after much negotiation between the two sides, the Presbyterian Medical Center of Philadelphia merged with the University of Pennsylvania Health System. The Center has since become part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. In addition to providing comprehensive care to residents of Philadelphia, the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center is one of the major bases for the training of medical students at the University of Pennsylvania. All members of its staff now hold faculty appointments at the Penn School of Medicine.

From the description of Records, 1799-1997 (bulk 1871-1997). (University of Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 145429361