Recognizing the need for local medical infrastructure, the VIA established the Doylestown Emergency Hospital in 1923 with a focus on emergency and maternity care. Over the following decades, the hospital expanded in both size and services, moving to a larger facility in 1939 and again in 1975 to accommodate the growing local population. The institution was renamed Doylestown Hospital in 1957 to reflect its expansion into general and specialized care, and the VIA restructured its ownership as a health system in 1985, later named Doylestown Health. Further expansion and modernization included the addition of a free clinic in 1994, an outpatient center in 2001, a cancer institute in 2011, and a cardiac and critical care pavilion in 2021. Doylestown Hospital and Doylestown Health struggled financially through the COVID-19 pandemic, and were acquired by UPHS in 2025.
Village Improvement Association and Doylestown Emergency Hospital: 1895–1957
The Village Improvement Association (VIA)—a women-only civic organization—was formed on April 26, 1895 by a group of 14 women from Doylestown, Pennsylvania to "promote the health and beauty of the town". Initially, their efforts were focused on controlling road dust, managing waste, and beautifying public spaces through trees and planting.[2] At that time, there was no hospital in or near Doylestown, requiring special transportation arrangements for patients in need of hospitalization. To address local health needs, the VIA established a Hospital Fund in 1907 with endorsements from local physicians.[3]
During the 1918–1920 flu pandemic, the VIA rented rooms on Broad Street to operate temporary emergency rooms.[4] In 1922, they purchased a property at Pine Street and Oakland Avenue for US$6,000 ($112,712in 2024) to serve as an emergency hospital. Doylestown Emergency Hospital officially opened on October 9, 1923, with eight beds.[5] It often operated at full capacity, generating a revenue of US$161.25 ($2,959in 2024) in May 1924 for instance.[6]
In 1923, the daily expense of using a hospital bed (left) was US$2.5 ($46.14in 2024) and an operating room (right) cost US$10 ($184.55in 2024).[7]
Doylestown Emergency Hospital had 14 beds and eight cribs by 1927. In its first decade, the hospital offered emergency services, minor surgeries, x-rays, visiting nurses, pediatric and maternity clinics.[8] The VIA supported the hospital financially through community donations, while the American Red Cross provided staff support for the visiting nurses program in its early days.[9] It cost the hospital 49c. ($11.90in 2024) to care for one patient per day in 1933.[10] The hospital admitted 62 patients through June 1934, and had a census of 22 on July 1.[11]
As the local population grew, the hospital became increasingly overcrowded.[11] In 1938, the VIA contracted AC Elfman & Sons to build a larger hospital building on a two-acre property at Belmont Avenue and Spruce Street.[12] At a cost of US$80,000 ($1.79millionin 2024) the new facility became functional on January 21, 1939, expanding its capacity to 21 beds. In addition to services offered at the previous location, the new facility housed a maternity, nursery, medical and medical-surgical wards. It also had a separate accident unit, sterilization room and an in-house laboratory.[13] The Veterans of Foreign Wars raised US$1,800 ($40,400in 2024) for updated x-ray equipment in 1940.[14]
Local volunteers, the hospital staff and their family members helped move equipment and patients from its 1923 location (left) to the new facility (right) in 1939.[13]
The Second World War led to supply shortages, particularly of food items. The local community helped the Doylestown Emergency Hospital stock its pantry through wartime; by January 1943, 1150 cans of vegetables and fruits were donated to the hospital by individuals and organizations in the area. In response to the post-war baby boom and increasing maternity needs, the VIA expanded the hospital with a two-story addition, including two delivery rooms, a second nursery and a children's ward. The new wing became operational in 1951 and increased the hospital capacity to 54 beds.[15]
Following equipment upgrades, Doylestown Emergency Hospital applied for Joint Commission accreditation in 1953, which was approved two years later.[16] In 1954, the visiting nurses' service began a follow-up program for discharged patients, launched a "cancer detection clinic" in collaboration with the American Cancer Society, and opened a child health clinic in Warminster.[17] In 1956, the hospital used a US$29,700 ($343,495in 2024) grant from the Ford Foundation to build a mortuary.[18]
Doylestown Hospital and Doylestown Health: 1957–2025
Anticipating a shift toward a general hospital model, the facility was renamed Doylestown Hospital in 1957. A US$1.5 million ($15.9millionin 2024) 85-bed extension was completed on Belmont Avenue in 1960.[20] Doylestown Hospital provided primary care, emergency medicine, hospital medicine, general surgery, pediatric, obstetrics and gynaecology care through the 1960s, later adding otorhinolaryngology, urology, orthopedics, cardiology and psychiatry.[19] The hospital added its first intensive care unit in 1966, and further extensions brought capacity to 129 beds.[21]
In collaboration with the Bucks County Planning Commission, the VIA sought a new site to serve the growing population.[22] In 1971, the VIA acquired 50 acres of Delaware Valley University campus on West State Street for US$332,934 ($2.58millionin 2024). A subsidized federal loan of US$5–7 million was granted in 1972 under the Hospital Survey and Construction Act,[23] and the new 165-bed hospital opened on November 2, 1975, at a cost of US$12.6 million ($73.6millionin 2024).[24]
A partnership with Lenape Valley Foundation added an 18-bed behavioral health unit, raising total capacity to 183 beds in 1978.[25] The hospital established a bond authority in 1979 to issue tax-exempt bonds.[26] The hospital launched a hospice program in 1983,[27] and installed its first CT scaner in 1984 for US$998,000 ($3.02millionin 2024).[28] In 1985, it opened Children's Village, a daycare center for staff children.[29] The VIA and Doylestown Hospital underwent restructuring in the mid-1980s. The hospital became a separate legal entity under the newly created VIA Health System, though the VIA retained majority control of the governing board. A dedicated Doylestown Health Foundation was established to manage philanthropy and investments.[30]
A new main wing was built to house critical care, emergency, radiology, laboratory, surgical services, post-anesthesia care unit, cardiac catheterization and rehabilitation in 1991.[31] The hospital acquired Pine Run, a senior living facility in New Britain in 1992.[32] The hospital established the Free Clinic of Doylestown in 1994—funded by Doylestown Health Foundation, the clinic was run by volunteer physicians providing primary and specialized care to patients with financial insecurity. It served 360 patients in its first year, increasing to 2,051 by 1998.[33] That year, an 18-bed long-term care unit for discharged patients requiring transitional skilled-nursing care was added.[34]
In 1997, Doylestown Hospital, Grand View Hospital in Sellersville and North Penn Hospital (now Jefferson Lansdale Hospital) in Lansdale formed Trinity Health Care Alliance for care coordination and supply chain management.[35] The hospital established the Heart Center of Doylestown Hospital in 2000.[36] The Health and Wellness Center by Doylestown Hospital, a US$124 million ($220millionin 2024)outpatient facility in Warrington, became functional in 2001; the center offered diagnostic services, physician clinics, pharmacy, and aquatic therapy.[37]Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development granted Doylestown Hospital US$11.1 million ($16.3millionin 2024) to be used towards a planned 2009 US$87 million ($128millionin 2024) expansion of the hospital's emergency department.[38]
The Cancer Institute of Doylestown Hospital, in collaboration with the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania's radiation oncology, opened in 2011.[39] The hospital partnered with MossRehab to run a 12-bed acute rehabilitation unit in 2012.[40] The same year, an outpatient wound care center was established at the hospital.[36] A six-bed pediatric inpatient unit opened in 2014 but closed in 2022 due to declining admissions.[41] VIA Health System changed its name to Doylestown Health in 2015.[42] A tornado severely damaged Children's Village in 2020, which was reconstructed by 2023.[43] The hospital further expanded in 2021 with the addition of a US$54 million ($62.7millionin 2024) pavilion dedicated for cardiac and critical care.[44]
The University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) acquired Doylestown Health on April 1, 2025, renaming it Penn Medicine Doylestown Health. Doylestown Hospital—then a 245-bed teaching hospital—became the seventh hospital in the UPHS network,[50] as Penn Medicine Doylestown Hospital.[51] UPHS assumed responsibility of some of its US$163 million long-term debt that it had outstanding by 2025.[44]
The American Medical Association declined to register the hospital in 1929 unless it was assured that osteopaths would not be permitted to treat patients. In 1936, the hospital's governing committee voted to bar all osteopaths except one previously affiliated with the facility.[10] A 1940 motion to exclude all osteopaths failed, but the hospital continued to limit surgeries performed by its lone osteopath to circumcisions only, prompting his resignation.[61]
Doylestown Health instituted a vaccine mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, its chief of cardiac surgery was terminated for refusing the vaccine, citing religious and medical beliefs; he later launched a GoFundMe to pursue litigation against the hospital.[62] A former director of medical staff at the hospital was charged with embezzling US$604,702.29 ($701,686in 2024) from the employee charity fund between 2008 and 2021.[63] After repaying the full amount in restitution, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years of probation in 2024.[64]
Biggs, Anne (1998). Through Their Eyes: A Story of Doylestown Hospital. Doylestown, Pennsylvania: Tower Hill Press. ISBN978-0-941668-08-8. LCCN98-071689.
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