Healthcare Changes in Lancaster Over the Past 125 Years
Lancaster General Hospital first opened its doors in a three-story residence at 322 North Queen Street in Lancaster City in 1893, 125 years ago.
Rev. Mr. D. Wesley Bicksler, pastor of Salem Evangelical Church on Water Street, organized the creation of Lancaster General Hospital by convening 60 business leaders and representatives of local fraternal, patriotic and religious organizations. The Knights of Malta made the first financial commitment toward the hospital. In its first year, the hospital admitted 53 patients. Of those, 22 were surgical and 31 medical. Only four patients died. Patients too poor to pay received care at no cost. Those who could pay were charged $5 a week. The fee included board, doctor’s services, nursing care and medicines.
Over the last century-and-a-quarter, the hospital has grown into Lancaster General Health, a modern health system that, as part of Penn Medicine, offers patients virtually every possible health service, from research, prevention and screening to highly specialized treatments.
A lot has changed in healthcare and in Lancaster since 1893. Here is a look at some of the notable healthcare moments that have taken place at LGH since then.
- 1893: Lancaster General Hospital opens in a three-story brick residence at 322 N. Queen St., Lancaster
- 1897: The first baby at the hospital is delivered
- 1903: A formal nurses’ training school is established
- 1913: LGH starts using its first motorized ambulance
- 1903: LGH acquires its first iron lung
- 1969: Family Medicine Residency Program established
- 1983: Dr. Lawrence I. Bonchek performs Lancaster County’s first open-heart surgery
- 1994: Health Campus (now Suburban Pavilion) opens
- 2000: Women & Babies Hospital opens
- 2002: LGH attains Magnet Recognition for nursing excellence
- 2004: LG Health Orthopedic Center opens
- 2005: LG Health Research Institute founded
- 2007: Lancaster Rehabilitation Hospital opens
- 2007: LG Health begins implementing an electronic medical record
- 2008: LG Health facilities go smoke-free
- 2010: LG Health opens first Urgent Care
- 2013: Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute opens
- 2015: LG Health becomes a member of the University of Pennsylvania Health System
- 2016: LG Health Neuroscience Institute opens
- 2018: Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital opens
Interactive Timeline
To learn more about these moments and others, visit an interactive timeline at www.historyoflgh.org that explores significant moments from the history of medicine, Lancaster County, and Lancaster General Health.
125thAnniversary Community Celebration
Lancaster General Health’s yearlong commemoration of its 125thanniversary culminates with a special September 22 community celebration, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Suburban Pavilion, 2100 Harrisburg Pike. In addition to a fun-filled day of health and wellness activities for the whole family, guests can view a historical timeline and artifacts detailing the rich history Lancaster General Health shares with the community.