Extraordinary Stories From An Ordinary Guy: The "Health Care At It's Best" Story

It was an ordinary day. Driving past Franklin & Marshall College's new athletic stadium in the north-east section of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Directly next to it is what at one time was Lancaster's biggest employer, Armstrong Cork Company. It later was known as Armstrong World Industries which was still one of Lancaster's biggest employers. But, today that is no longer the case, since Lancaster General Hospital (Lancaster General Health) now employs more than double the next largest employer in Lancaster. Lancaster General Health is a health system in Lancaster, Pennsylvania which was founded in 1893 in a home on

First home of Lancaster General Hospital.

Queen Street in the city. The hospital now is a 590-bed facility located at 555 North Duke Street in Lancaster. Lancaster General Health encompasses the main facility on North Duke Street as well as two smaller centers: The Woman & Babies Hospital at 690 Good Drive and the Lancaster Rehabilitation Hospital at 675 Good Drive. And, Carol and I have made good use of the buildings. We, at times, talk about moving to a warmer climate, or even an island in the Caribbean, but the medical care we get right here in Lancaster is remarkable and when you have reached the downside instead of the upside of your life, medical care is important. Lancaster is a relatively small city of about seven square miles with under 70,000 residents. It is within driving distance of New Jersey shore points as well as big cities such as Baltimore, Philadelphia and even New York.

Lime Street site of Lancaster General Hospital.

Lancaster is one of our nation's most historical towns as I have talked about on this blog for years now. And, medical care in the city is next to none. Lancaster General is on the list of top 100 hospitals in the nation and is a magnet facility for nursing excellence. U.S. News & World Report has named Lancaster's hospital as one of the best for heart surgery, orthopedics, urology, hormonal disorders and ear, nose & throat. The only thing they lack as far as Carol and I are concerned is a white sand beach with turquoise waters. Lancaster General began December of 1893 in a three-story brick residence at 322 N. Queen Street in downtown Lancaster. Three years later they relocated to a nearby private mansion at 530-532 North Lime Street.

The main entrance of the new location
at 528 North LIme Street.

They celebrated their first hospital birth on January 9, 1897. In 1903 they established a formal nurses' training school. In 1912 the first Cesarean section was performed and the following year they added their first motorized ambulance. Sounds rather mundane to list all these accomplishments, but Lancaster had no hospital at all before that. Then in 1918 a flu epidemic hit and The Moose Hall on East King Street was converted to an emergency hospital. On October 7th of that year 2,516 flu cases were reported in a single day. Lancaster General began to expand and in 1929 undertook its last major expansion before WWII by adding a new maternity building, a new administration wing and acquisition of private homes for their nurses.

Sample of private room when hospital first opened.

In 1935 President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law and three years later the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act was signed. In 1938 the hospital got its first iron lung. President Truman signed the National Mental Health Act of 1946 which provided funding for research and treatment of mental illness. Computerized accounting and billing began the same year with technology finding its way into hospital business.

After the war ended in 1946, 448 babies were born at the hospital. Three years later that number had doubled.

First ambulance at Lancaster General Hospital.

In the early 1950s the department of Physical Therapy was established and a new wing was dedicated with 156 new beds as well as a heart clinic. In 1957 the polio unit was phased out after polio vaccine was licensed. A new LGH School of Nursing was completed with student residence that can house 234 nurses. In 1967 residential properties near the hospital were demolished for a new parking garage.

One of first babies born at the hospital.

Ten years later the hospital had their first CAT scanner with an MRI scanner soon after. 1981 saw the first cardiac catheter- ization lab with Lancaster's first open heart surgery being performed two years later. The Womans's Health Pavilion was established in 1986 and the following year the trauma center is named a regional trauma center. All along, the hospital hired many new employees to help staff their growing hospital. In 1994 the Suburban Outpatient Pavilion was finished and six years later the Woman & Babies Hospital opened.

Iron lung that was at Lancaster General Hospital.

2002 saw the former nursing school become Lancaster General College of Nursing & Health Sciences. The following year LGH opened an expanded Trauma and Emergency Department while a year later they opened an Orthopedic Center. In 2007 the Lancaster Rehabilitation Hospital opened.

This view shows the Duke Street entrance to the hospital.

In 2010 President Obama signed the Patient Protection Care Act saying that every citizen should have access to basic health care. What has happened since then would take a book to finish my story. As you see, Lancaster has many, many workers in the health care industry and that is why it is so hard for Carol and I to think of moving from our safety blanket of medical care. We'll have to just plan on a few weeks at a time in the sun and stay put where we have some of the best health care in the world. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.