{"id":115485,"date":"2026-02-16T20:22:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T20:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/115485\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T20:22:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T20:22:17","slug":"americas-oldest-hospital-to-become-museum-organizers-say-nbc10-philadelphia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/115485\/","title":{"rendered":"America\u2019s oldest hospital to become museum, organizers say \u2013 NBC10 Philadelphia"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Pennsylvania Hospital — America’s first chartered hospital — marks its 275th anniversary this year, the hospital also plans to celebrate the occasion by transforming its historic Pine Building into a museum. <\/p>\n

The museum, which officials said would include exhibits that “links the nation\u2019s first hospital\u2019s rich history with Penn Medicine\u2019s continued leadership in science and medicine,” is set to open to the public in May of this year. <\/p>\n

\u201cPennsylvania Hospital is not only linked to the history of just Philadelphia \u2013 but to the history of the United States of America:\u00a0 From caring for soldiers during the American revolution to sending physicians and nurses abroad to care for soldiers in World War I and World War II, from the Yellow Fever in 1793 to the\u00a0COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, from brewing healing teas from herbs grown on hospital grounds to developing brain-computer interfaces that can treat conditions like Parkinson\u2019s disease and obsessive-compulsive disorder, \u201d said\u00a0Stacey Peeples, Lead Archivist at Pennsylvania Hospital in a statement on the planned new museum. \u201cI am thrilled to illuminate the huge contributions of generations of caregivers, patients and staff, so that every visitor can share in the pride we feel in the history of Pennsylvania Hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Organizers with Pennsylvania Hospital said the opening of the new museum is intended to coincide with the celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary celebrations<\/a>. <\/p>\n

When it opens, organizers said, exhibits will include a preserved historic library and surgical amphitheater along with a newly restored apothecary. <\/p>\n

There will be eight unique galleries that will feature “interactive video and other hands-on activities to illustrate previously untold stories about Pennsylvania Hospital\u2019s role in the history of modern medicine,” organizers said.<\/p>\n

Organizers said that highlights of the new museum will include: <\/p>\n

Brain and mental health:\u00a0The hospital was first established to provide\u00a0psychiatric care\u00a0to Philadelphia\u2019s poorest residents, which at the time was groundbreaking. Since then, Pennsylvania Hospital continues to pioneer cutting-edge technologies to treat complicated conditions, including using\u00a0Deep Brain Stimulation for binge-eating disorder\u00a0and\u00a0thought-powered prosthetics.<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s health: Today, Pennsylvania Hospital is the busiest birthing hospital in Philadelphia, welcoming over 5,000 babies into the world each year. It paved the way for modern obstetrics and gynecology for centuries, from establishing the first\u00a0maternity ward\u00a0in 1803, to\u00a0addressing racial disparities\u00a0in maternal health care today.<\/p>\n

Apothecary and pharmaceuticals: In a reconstruction of the hospital\u2019s original apothecary, the museum traces the history of how illness is treated, from the\u00a0early therapies\u00a0created from plants through modern day innovative therapies developed at Penn Medicine, like\u00a0CAR-T cell therapy\u00a0and\u00a0CRISPR gene editing.<\/p>\n

Leading through conflicts and perseverance: Pennsylvania Hospital played an important role in guiding the nation through challenging times; Starting with the\u00a0American Revolution, Pennsylvania Hospital cared for soldiers during times of war. The hospital also provided care to Philadelphians during pandemics, from the Spanish Flu all the way through COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cPennsylvania Hospital is a jewel in the crown that is Penn Medicine, where our staff draw energy from our rich history to shape the future of medicine,\u201d said\u00a0Alicia Gresham, CEO of Pennsylvania Hospital in a statement. \u201cIt is an honor to preserve this vibrant legacy while steering the hospital forward as we continue to make history through innovation, discovery, and advances that propel Penn Medicine\u2019s mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets to the new museum, organizers said, will go on sale this spring. <\/p>\n

To sign up to receive updates on the new museum, ticket sales, and museum events, visit\u00a0https:\/\/pahmuseum.pennmedicine.org\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Pennsylvania Hospital — America’s first chartered hospital — marks its 275th anniversary this year, the hospital also…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115486,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[36854,28,30,29],"class_list":["post-115485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-penn-medicine","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}