Editing Pennsylvania Hospital (section)

== History ==

=== Founding ===

Pennsylvania Hospital was founded on '''May 11, 1751''', when the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly passed a bill chartering the hospital. The institution was conceived the previous year when Dr. Thomas Bond, a Philadelphia physician trained in London and Paris, proposed establishing a hospital to care for the city's sick poor.

Bond approached his longtime friend [[Benjamin Franklin]] to help raise funds and generate public support. Franklin's involvement proved crucial—he not only championed the cause but developed an innovative funding mechanism: the first matching grant in American history.

=== Founders ===

'''Dr. Thomas Bond''' (1712-1784) and '''[[Benjamin Franklin]]''' co-founded Pennsylvania Hospital.

'''Dr. Thomas Bond'''
Born in Maryland, Bond trained as a physician in London and Paris before establishing a practice in Philadelphia. Influenced by the success of voluntary hospitals in England, Bond envisioned a similar institution for the colonies. When he initially struggled to raise funds, he turned to Franklin for help.

'''Benjamin Franklin'''
Franklin's genius lay in both fundraising and political strategy. He proposed to the Pennsylvania Assembly that if private citizens could raise £2,000, the government would match the amount. Skeptical legislators agreed, believing the goal unattainable. Franklin exceeded the target, forcing the Assembly to fulfill its pledge and creating a new model for public-private partnerships in philanthropy.<ref name="ushistory">{{cite web |url=https://www.ushistory.org/franklin/philadelphia/hospital.htm |title=Franklin's Philadelphia: The Pennsylvania Hospital |publisher=ushistory.org |access-date=December 22, 2025}}</ref>

Franklin served on the hospital's original Board of Managers, as its first secretary, and later as its second president. He chose the story of the Good Samaritan as the motif for the hospital seal, reflecting the institution's mission to care for the sick poor "free of charge."

=== America's First Hospital ===

Pennsylvania Hospital is America's first chartered hospital and is widely recognized as the oldest hospital in the United States. While other institutions existed earlier in different forms, Pennsylvania Hospital was the first to receive an official charter as a hospital:

* '''1729''' - Philadelphia General Hospital (an almshouse) was founded, but operated primarily as a poorhouse
* '''1736''' - Bellevue Hospital in New York opened as a six-bed infirmary
* '''1751''' - Pennsylvania Hospital received the first hospital charter in the American colonies

Pennsylvania Hospital was the first institution specifically designed and chartered to provide medical care, making it the prototype for American hospitals.

=== Early Development ===

The hospital opened in a temporary location on Market Street in 1752, admitting its first patient that year. Construction of a permanent facility began in 1755 under the direction of Samuel Rhoads, a master builder and member of the Carpenters' Company who drew inspiration from the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh.

The East Wing was completed in 1756, followed by the West Wing in 1797, and the Center Building in 1804. Together, these sections form the Pine Building, one of the finest examples of 18th-century American colonial architecture.