Saint Josephs Medical Center history

The Sisters of Mercy came to Phoenix in 1892 to open a parish school.

In 1893, more land was purchased, extending the hospital’s footprint from Walnut to Elm Street, or about half a city block.

Two months later, the Sisters had raised sufficient funds to build a "real hospital." On March 19, 1895, a stake was driven into the ground to mark the site of what would become a hospital housing 24 private rooms that opened onto porches.

In 1897, the State of Pennsylvania incorporated St Joseph Hospital.

Construction of the administration building began in 1899.

Once again responding to those in need, several Sisters of St Joseph of Wheeling traveled by boat to Parkersburg, West Virginia, to establish St Joseph’s Hospital in 1900.

1901 — School of Nursing is established to meet nursing shortages

In 1902, the State of Pennsylvania appropriated a $2,000 annual grant to St Joseph Hospital for the first time in its history.

In 1915, Financial stress was relieved when the Berks County Commission allocated $650 a year to increase the hospitals’ budget.

In 1917, the Ladies Auxiliary began.

In 1921, the withdrawal of State Aid created a hardship on the Hospital.

1923 marked a half-century of public service at St Joseph’s.

A new wing was dedicated on Sunday, June 13, 1926.

1941 — St Joseph is one of the only hospitals in Baltimore to have an iron lung, the life-saving treatment for respiratory polio

In 1946, a wing was added to the Nurses’ Residence.

In November 1947, a fundraising campaign began to raise money to build the new hospital.

In 1948, a Residency in Ophthalmology was established.

In 1950, hospital leaders finalized plans to build a new hospital wing and an addition to the Nurses’ Residence.

In 1951, the Department of Welfare accepted, approved and guaranteed financial aid to construct the additions to the Nurses’ Residence and an additional wing to the hospital.

The modern, spacious facility opened in July of 1953.

In January 1954, plans were maturing for another wing to be added to the hospital, extending from Twelfth and Walnut Streets northward.

1955 marked the 100th Anniversary of the Philadelphia Foundation of the Sisters of St Francis, of which the Sisters of St Joseph Hospital are members.

1956 — First lay advisory board appointed Medical staff members join community leaders to preserve hospital operations until a new facility can be built

1957 — St Joseph is the first hospital in Maryland to have a structured cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) team

In 1960, a Vitreous Humor Bank, a sterile storage facility for eye fluid, was set up at St Joseph Hospital.

In 1961, two departmental schools were started at St Joseph Hospital:

In 1967, a fundraising campaign to raise $1.5 million got off to a great start with a pledge of $100,000 from the Women’s Board of the Combined Auxiliaries.

1968 — Osler Drive Emergency Physician Associates (ODEPA) establishes the first 24/7 emergency physicians group in Maryland St Joseph opens the first short-term inpatient psychiatric unit in Maryland

In 1970, bids went out in January for the latest addition to the St Joseph Hospital.

In 1971, the hospital purchased a mechanical ventilator known as the Drager Spiromat 661.

In 1972, the latest addition to St Joseph Hospital, the North Wing, was dedicated.

In 1973, St Joseph Hospital entered into its 100th year of continuous service to the people of Reading and Berks County.

1980 — St Joseph wins regulatory approval for a CAT scan

1981 — St Joseph Hospital, under the leadership of the Sisters of St Francis of Philadelphia, becomes part of Franciscan Health System

1982 — St Joseph is the only community-based hospital in Maryland licensed to perform open-heart surgery

1985 — St Joseph Hospital is one of the first hospitals on the East Coast to offer mothers the opportunity to labor, deliver and recover in a single, specially designed suite

1986 — International Center for Skeletal Dysplasia opens

1994 — St Joseph is the first hospital in Maryland to develop a training program in minimally invasive (laparoscopic) surgical techniques for practicing physicians

2000 — The Heart Institute performs the largest volume of heart procedures in Maryland, treating one in four open-heart surgery patients in the state

2002 — St Joseph establishes the Village Wellness Project in Tanzania

2004 — The new Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Emergency Department opens

In 2005, Langan Allied Health opened as part of the Downtown Reading campus revitalization.

In 2009, St Joseph began an Oncology partnership with Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

In 2010, Haven Behavioral Health began providing its inpatient behavioral health services in the Downtown Reading campus.

St Elizabeth Hospital opened in February 2011 in Enumclaw, replacing Enumclaw Regional Hospital as the community's acute-care facility.

2012 — Joined the University of Maryland Medical System and became University of Maryland St Joseph Medical Center.

2013 — The inaugural classes of the hospital’s Healing Hands Guild and Profiles of Compassion Society are inducted.

Saint Joseph's new state-of-the-art hospital opened in December 2014.

In 2015, St Joseph Regional Health Network was acquired by the newly created Penn State Health, becoming the organization’s first hospital.

One of 29 United States teaching hospitals recognized for top performance and quality by Leapfrog (2016)

2019 — UM St Joseph was ranked the #1 community hospital in Maryland by United States News & World Report – for the first of several consecutive years

December 2021 — The hospital’s Foundation Board establishes the Employee Resilience Fund, to provide supplemental support to staff coping with the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.