For nearly 90 years, Citizens General Hospital served thousands in the New Kensington area.
The facility — known simply as CGH to many — existed from 1912 until 2000.
The hospital had a humble beginning, chartered on Dec. 12, 1912, when it was known as “Trinity Hospital.” It was located at 427 Sixth Ave. in Parnassus, which was its own borough before consolidating with New Kensington in 1931.
Things didn’t go well, financially, in the first two years as a private hospital.
It could serve just six patients at once.
Resident J.M. Kennedy headed a fundraising drive to replace Trinity that netted $85,000 in 1914. That translates to $2.5 million in 2022 dollars. The money was earmarked for use in a new building that could serve up to 60 patients. The name would be changed to Citizens General Hospital.
In 1915, The Aluminum Company of America — Alcoa — donated land at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Seventh Street in New Kensington for a hospital to “provide medical, surgical and nursing care.”
The hospital opened Oct. 10, 1915, with 60 beds plus 24 bassinets in the maternity ward.
As New Kensington continued to grow, the hospital quickly needed to expand. In 1922, a new wing with 24 additional beds was constructed. That same year, coal magnate Henry C. Kinloch of the Valley Camp Coal Co. donated a home for nurses.
In 1940, CGH was again expanded to accommodate 147 beds and 57 bassinets.
The population of the service area continued to grow after World War II, plus the baby boom was on. Ground was broken for further expansion in 1951, and the hospital’s new capacity was 244 beds.
The hospital couldn’t avoid controversy. In 1957, mine workers and others who used the Russellton Medical Group’s miners clinics complained that their doctors didn’t have admitting privileges at CGH. Thousands marched down Fifth Avenue in New Kensington and, eventually, clinic doctors were staffed.
A long-range plan was developed in 1958 by the hospital’s board of trustees. A series of expansions began in 1964 and continued until the final phase was authorized in 1981: a new, $28 million emergency room wing also brought on a radiology department, new intensive care/CCU units, an operating suite and a short-stay surgery unit.
It appeared as though Citizens General Hospital would be around forever.
But hospital costs continued to escalate into the 1990s. A report by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council showed CGH lost as much as 4.2%. Other hospitals in the Pittsburgh region averaged a 3.24% profit.
Along came the federal Balanced Budget Act of 1997, instituting gradual, substantial cutbacks in Medicare reimbursements. At the time, 67% of Citizens General’s patients were elderly recipients of Medicare or Medicaid.
Finally, Citizens General and Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison were forced to merge in 2000, though officials of the West Penn Allegheny conglomerate denied it was a “merger.”
Allegheny Valley Hospital became known as Alle-Kiski Medical Center, and the Citizens Ambulatory Care Center also was renamed.
As part of the deal, West Penn Allegheny agreed to pay $10 million to the Citizens General Hospital Foundation.
One would be hard-pressed to name five people who used the term “Alle-Kiski Medical Center,” and the name eventually was changed back to Allegheny Valley Hospital.
As for the New Kensington ambulatory care center, it was an urgent-care type facility that also offered walk-in services for radiology, cardiology and diabetes care until it closed in May 2021.
In 2019, the Citizens School of Nursing moved to the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer.
The former Citizens General Hospital is now vacant.
George Guido is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.
"general" - Google News
December 12, 2022 at 12:01AM
https://ift.tt/RpnEkxi
Remember When: Citizens General Hospital in New Kensington served the city well - TribLIVE
"general" - Google News
https://ift.tt/7hE8fqk
https://ift.tt/6HtM4m1
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Remember When: Citizens General Hospital in New Kensington served the city well - TribLIVE"
Post a Comment