Pennsylvania Hospital

Pennsylvania Hospital is a private, non-profit, 515-bed teaching hospital located in Center City Philadelphia and affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Founded on May 11, 1751, by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond, Pennsylvania Hospital is one of the earliest established public hospitals in the United States. It is also home to America's first surgical amphitheatre and its first medical library. The hospital's main building, dating to 1756, is a National Historic Landmark.
Pennsylvania Hospital was originally conceived in 1751 by Dr. Thomas Bond as an institution "for the reception and cure of the sick poor...free of charge. It was funded by "matching grant" to donations of the people of Philadelphia by a Bill which the House passed unanimously on 7 February 1750. Franklin went on to later write: "I do not remember any of my political Manoeuvres, the Success of which gave me at the time more Pleasure." On September 2, 1751, Mathias Koplin donated the first plot of ground for the new hospital. The first building was opened on February 6, 1752, on High Street . Elizabeth Gardner, a Quaker widow, was appointed Matron of the hospital. As the hospital received support of the leading families in Philadelphia, its permanence was secured, and Samuel Rhoads was appointed architect of the new building.

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