Philadelphia Hospital Museum

A few weeks ago, I took a quick trip to see the newly-opened Philadelphia Hospital Museum. We are getting ready to update our Medical Museum here at MedChi, so the opening was fortuitous, as we might be able to get some ideas from what they have done.

The Penn Hospital Museum is located on the campus of Penn Hospital in the oldest section of the city and is the oldest chartered hospital in the USA. 

In this period engraving, you can see the central sections which now holds the museum. On the top floor, the operating theatre uses the light from the sun to illuminate the room. 

The hospital grounds are surrounded by a beautiful garden and a central statue of William Penn, who was a founder of the hospital and later for some of its funding.

Each floor of the Museum has different rooms and exhibits. As you enter, you see the beautiful Minton-tiled floors and the elegant staircase. 

There is also a huge (8'x5.5') painting of Samuel Coates by the painter, Thomas Sully. 

There was also an old exhibition space, along with a botanical room. 

Fortunately, there is much of the original detailing remaining in the building, including secret staircases!

Like MedChi, this Museum has old ledgers and lists, which are fascinating to read. 

Of course, one of my favorite rooms was the beautiful old libraries, filled with glass-fronted bookcases.

They had some of the old anatomical and botanical books printed on heavy plastic (or something) so you could see the actual pages without touching them. 

On the top floor was the operating theatre. The guide told us that they could only operate between eleven and two or three on sunny days because of the light. 

Like us, PHM had lots of old surgical instruments and other tools. 

As I mentioned, the grounds are really lovely, especially on a hot, late June afternoon. 

We were so pleased to have the opportunity to visit and it was really worth the 200+ mile round trip!