Call Number:

01

Repository:

Sellersville Museum

Extent:

15.0 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

circa 1913-2013

Creator:

Grand View Hospital

Abstract:

Grand View Hospital in Sellersville was the first hospital in Bucks County, Pennsylvania upon its founding in 1913. Two years later it opened a Nurse's Training School, the only one in Bucks County. The hospital is still in operation as of 2014. The Grand View Hospital Auxiliary collection, circa 1913-2013, includes a large quantity of scrapbooks and publications and ephemera, as well as some photographs and a small amount of correspondence and other documents.

Grand View Hospital in Sellersville was the first hospital in Bucks County, Pennsylvania upon its founding in 1913. Two years later it opened a Nurse's Training School, the only one in Bucks County. The hospital is still in operation as of 2014.

The Grand View Hospital Auxiliary was organized as a volunteer group that helped care for patients and support hospital staff. In the 2st century, its focus is on fundraising, public relations, and community outreach.

Chronology of Grand View Hospital "Firsts"

Oct 28, 1913 The first operations are performed at recently founded Grand View Hospital. "Three patients were operated upon last Tuesday in the new Grand View Hospital, the patients coming from Hatfield, Souderton and Perkasie..." Central News, Perkasie, Pa., Nov. 5, 1913 May 25, 1915 The first class of Grand View's Nurse's Training School graduates with a one-year degree in nursing. Later, the program would be revised to two-year and three-year programs. Grand View is the only approved school of nursing in Bucks County. 1915 The first Lawn Fete is a well-attended gala affair for the public at large and raises around $150 -- a large sum at the time. May 13, 1926 The first Caesarean section is performed at Grand View Hospital. Both the mother and baby are reported to be doing well. Earlier in the year, the first set of twins was delivered at Grand View. 1927 The American College of Surgeons accredits Grand View Hospital, and has been continuously accredited as fulfilling all standards of care by the College since this date. 1937 Dr. Michael Peters, the first trained specialist in Internal Medicine to join Grand View staff, is named Chief of Medicine. He is the first to use antibiotics and sulfonamides to treat streptococcal and other infections, to institute programs for the treatment and management of diabetes, and to use x-ray and in-house lab studies in diagnosis of disease. Sept 1937 Dr. Violet H. Kidd of Souderton becomes the first woman physician to affiliate with the Grand View medical staff. Mar 1, 1940 The first maternity patient is admitted to Grand View's new maternity wing. Each year more babies are being delivered in the hospital and the demand for maternity beds far exceeds what is available. Ground was broken on the new annex in 1939 "in the hope of better service to a larger number of people." During the first year of the wing's existence, 337 babies are born. Sept 16, 1948 The first blood exchange at Grand View for a newborn infant with an Rh reaction is performed with success. 1952 Grand View receives full accreditation by the newly formed Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals, the highest honor a hospital can receive. To date, Grand View has been continuously accredited as fulfilling all standards of care by the association's successor, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations. Fall 1958 The first emergency open chest heart massage for sudden cardiac arrest is performed at Grand View successfully by Dr. Charles Winn. Jan 1959 The first partially artificial hip joint is created when Dr. Richard White replaces the crushed head of a femur with a metallic prosthesis. 1962 A six-bed Intensive Coronary Care Unit is completed, concentrating all maximum-care equipment to the area on the first floor. The Unit is the first of its kind between Abington and Allentown. May 1966 Dr. Howard Graham successfully removes a portion of a patient's esophagus and attaches the remaining portion to the patient's stomach. It is the first operation of this type performed at Grand View Hospital. 1970s Full in-house 24-hour anesthesia coverage begins at Grand View, long before other hospitals in the region offer this level of service. 1972 The Department of Pediatrics relocates to a newly constructed, modern pediatric unit, the only separate and discrete pediatric unit in the region. 1973 The first in-house computer at Grand View Hospital comes to Data Processing to fulfill Medicare requirements. 1974 The Emergency Room expands to four beds, and the first full-time Medical Director, Dr. Robert Lavin, is hired to bring his vast ER experience to Grand View. The scope of care provided in the ER changed greatly to include more aggressive treatment. A cardiac monitor and defibrillator became integral pieces of equipment, and the nursing staff received training in the interpretation of cardiac rhythms and resuscitation procedures. 1974 The first class of the Career Ladder nursing program graduates as the first such class in Pennsylvania. The decision was made to discontinue the three-year Grand View Hospital diploma school of nursing upon graduation of the 1973 class, and to replace that program with the Career Ladder education program, by which an LPN would be eligible for examination as an RN after 12 to 15 months of instruction. 1978 First radio communication between the Grand View Emergency Department and its ambulances takes place. ER physicians receive training and certification to become "Command Physicians." Grand View Hospital becomes actively involved with Bucks County Emergency Medical Service Council (EMS). 1980 Kathleen Langen, RN, and Ellen Clark, RN, are among the first group of Emergency Room nurses in the nation to take and pass the Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) exam. Kathleen Langen designs a new two-part Emergency Record, which is still in use today. 1981 A Hospice program is initiated to care for terminally ill patients. 1985 Grand View opens its first satellite health care facility in Pennsburg 1987 The first hospital-wide no-smoking ban is instituted. Oct 1990 Laparoscopic removal of the gall bladder is made available to patients at Grand View Hospital. In the coming months, more and more procedures are performed "through the scope," including laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomies and laparoscopic repair of hernias. Oct 2002 Grand View's first dedicated Joint Replacement Center opens its doors. 2006 Grand View opens the David M. Flowers, MD, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, named in memory of the well-respected cardiologist. The hospital is one of 11 community hospitals throughout Pennsylvania granted permission to operate a cath lab without having a cardiac surgery program. Feb 2007 Grand View Hospital bans smoking on the entire hospital campus, as well as its outpatient centers and the offices of Grand View Medical Practices. 2008 HealthGrades, the nation's leading healthcare ratings company recognizes Grand View Hospital with the Distinguished Hospital Award for Patient Safety™. Grand View is the only hospital to be recognized in a seven county region, which includes Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Northampton and Philadelphia. Jan 2012 Grand View partners with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to offer a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Bibliography:

Chronology quoted from: Grand View Hospital. "Firsts." Accessed April 22, 2014. http://www.gvh100.org/a-century-strong/firsts/.

The largest portion of this collection is scrapbooks; it also includes a large quantity of publications and ephemera, some photographs, and a small amount of correspondence and other documents.

The vast majority of the scrapbooks in this collection contain clippings and publicity about the hospital, 1950s to the 2000s. In addition, there are scrapbooks from individual nurses dating from the 1930s, featuring original photographs, ephemera, and other papers.

Publications and ephemera make up the second largest portion of this collection. There are a large number of "Grand Viewer" newsletters, mostly from the 1970s to 1990s, as well as other newsletters intended for internal and external audiences. There is also a sampling of annual reports, alumni association bulletins, nursing school yearbooks, nursing school graduation and other event programs, and various other pamphlets and ephemera.

The photographs (some originals and some copies) depict nurses, buildings, doctors, and other hospital scenery, and range throughout the 20th century. There is at least one VHS tape of a talent show, 1997.

Additional materials include meeting minutes and reports, letters, several nursing certificates, narrative histories of the hospital and of the nursing school, hospital instructional manuals, and other documents. There is a series of files on individual doctors and nurses, and a series of files on the hospital by year (1924-2013), featuring clippings, pamphlets and ephemera, and a few photographs.