History of Chester County Hospital

Chester County Hospital began as a 10-bed dispensary in 1892. Today, we are a 329-bed inpatient complex in West Chester, Pennsylvania, with outpatient services extending to Exton, West Goshen, New Garden, Jennersville, and Kennett Square.

For more than 134 years, Chester County Hospital has been rooted in a mission to be the leading health care provider in our region and a national model for quality. We have grown from a small community dispensary into a modern teaching hospital. Now part of Penn Medicine, we remain dedicated to the health and well-being of the community in Chester County and Philadelphia’s western suburbs and bringing advanced procedures close to home.

1890s to 1900s: Early history of Chester County Hospital

Our story began on September 12, 1892, when a charter was granted to found West Chester Hospital. Community leaders recognized the need for local inpatient care to reduce residents’ need to travel to Philadelphia for treatment. The establishment of West Chester Hospital reflected a commitment to provide accessible, high-quality medical care close to home for a growing population.

• 1893: Hospital opened in March with just a few patient beds.
• 1894: Surgeons performed the hospital’s first operation on Benjamin Bush, who was discovered lying near railroad tracks with both legs mangled. His legs were amputated and, against the odds of the time, he survived. This case strengthened community support for the new hospital.
• 1894: Nursing school opens.
• 1895: Main hospital building is completed.
• 1896: The hospital adds men’s and women’s wards.
• 1897: The hospital adds laboratories.
• 1904: The contagious ward provides separate quarters for patients with infectious diseases.
• 1905: An X-ray department opens, treating 48 patients in its first year.
• 1908: The hospital adds children’s and maternity wards.

1910s to 1985: Rapid growth and expansion

In 1918, philanthropist Pierre S. du Pont donated more than $1 million in memory of his friend Lewes A. Mason. Mason was a personal employee of du Pont who contracted a fatal case of influenza during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.

• 1924: Groundbreaking for the brand-new hospital.
• 1925: A new, Italian Renaissance-style facility opens with 145 beds.
• 1927: Cardiology department is founded.
• 1929: The hospital admits more than 2,000 patients in one year.
• 1931: West Side hospital wing opens.
• 1955: Hospital builds three additional patient care wings.
• 1960: Rhoads Education building opens, named in honor of Emily C.S. Rhoads for her dedication to the School of Nursing.
• 1967: West Wing as we know it today is added.
• 1975: New emergency room opens.
• 1979: Intensive care and coronary care units are built, providing the hospital with the ability to deliver complex, lifesaving care and expanding critical care services.
• 1982: Chester County’s first paramedic unit, Medic 91, begins service.
• 1985: North Pavilion opens, bringing new obstetric, nursery, and pediatric units.

1990s to 2000s: Serving Chester County and beyond

In the 1990s, we partnered with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to provide neonatal intensive care and a full-service inpatient pediatric unit at Chester County Hospital. Today, both continue to be staffed full-time with CHOP specialists.

• 1991: Hospital becomes the first in the county to perform cardiac catheterizations.
• 1994: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) opens.
• 1998: Cancer Center of Chester County is established.
• 2000: Fern Hill Medical Campus opens and expands access to outpatient services, supporting a growing emphasis on ambulatory care, preventive services, and specialty practices beyond the main hospital.
• 2001: Cardiovascular Center becomes the first full-service interventional cardiac and open-heart surgery program in Chester County.
• 2004: Wound Care Center opens at Fern Hill.
• 2005: First and only NICU in the county to receive Level III designation.
• 2007: Congestive Heart Failure Telemonitoring Program is founded.
• 2008: Surgeons perform the hospital’s 1,000th open-heart surgery.
• 2008: First hospital in Pennsylvania to receive six certifications from The Joint Commission.
• 2008: Atrial Fibrillation Center opens.
• 2008: Hospital receives Primary Stroke Center designation.
• 2008: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy offered.
• 2009: Women’s Specialty Center at Fern Hill opens.

2010s to today: Looking to the future

The 2010s marked Chester County Hospital’s integration with Penn Medicine. This partnership allows us to carefully coordinate care with downtown colleagues, so patients with the most complex needs have access to all the services they need.

• 2011: Robotic surgery program launches.
• 2012: Lasko Tower addition begins.
• 2013: Chester County Hospital joins Penn Medicine.
• 2013: Radiation oncology brings the state-of-the-art TrueBeam linear accelerator online.
• 2015: Penn Medicine Southern Chester County opens.
• 2016: 700-space parking garage opens.
• 2017: The Medical Library undergoes comprehensive renovation and digitization, expanding research, resources, and technology, and strengthening evidence-based research, patient safety, and critical decision-making.
• 2018: EPIC Electronic Health Record integrates with Penn Medicine.
• 2019-2020: 15 operating rooms, three cardiac cath/electrophysiology labs and one hybrid operating room opens.
• 2019-2020: TAVR program launches—the first in Chester County.
• 2019: Heart & Vascular Program expands with structural heart and non-invasive cardiology.
• 2020: Pavilion expands and new patient tower opens with modernized inpatient units, surgical services, and diagnostic capabilities.
• 2020: Emergency department expands with trauma-ready design. Rooftop helipad is installed.
• 2021-2022: The emergency department undergoes renovation, nearly doubling its size to improve patient flow, increase capacity, and strengthen emergency response capabilities.
• 2025: Chester County Hospital celebrates the centennial of its maternal care services.
• 2025: Dr. Karen Pinsky is appointed president and CEO of Chester County Hospital, after serving as interim CEO since July 2024. Her appointment marks a historic milestone as the first female president and CEO and the first physician to hold this role in the hospital’s history.
• 2025: Crozer’s Family Medicine Residency program becomes Chester County Hospital’s Family Residency Program.