USA > Pennsylvania > Lycoming County > Picture of Lycoming County, Vol. 2 > Part 8
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THE HOSPITALS
In 1940, the Williamsport Hospital, with 192 beds, was the only hospital in the city of Williamsport. The two other hospitals in Lycoming County, at Jersey Shore and Muncy, both occupied old mansions hardly suited to the needs of busy community hospitals. The three hospitals together provided only 250 beds for the entire county. Contributing to the shortage of hospital beds in those days was the longer average stay per patient.
Today's medical attitudes and procedures make it possible to discharge patients much sooner than was believed advis- able in the past. Furthermore, the hospitals in this county were not capable of many forms of diagnosis and treatment. Instead, patients with serious conditions were often trans- ferred to larger hospitals in other counties. Yet, Lycom- ing County's hospitals rated no better nor worse than their equivalents in other parts of the state. They provided medical care considered routine for the time. The changes and achievements in our county's hospitals since then have been phenomenal. No amount of guess work or speculation could have foreseen the medical advances which were to occur in the 1960's and 1970's in Lycoming County. But, the medi- cal advances in our county were only an offshoot of the wider medical revolution taking place throughout the entire nation.
The Williamsport Hospital was the medical heart of the county in 1940. The year 1978 marks the one-hundredth year since the hospital opened for business. Today the services of the Williamsport Hospital extend beyond its own walls, and be- yond even Lycoming County to the community owned regional health centers in Blossburg, Elkland, Mansfield and Picture Rocks. The hospital continues to provide guidance and
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expertise to these centers. The centers offer routine medi- cal care to rural areas once deficient in doctors, often requiring many miles of travel for rural residents needing medical attention.
The Jersey Shore and Muncy Valley Hospitals, in the 1940's, were only faint shadows of the modern facilities they are today. There is virtually no comparison of these two modern hospitals to their former selves, but, the one county hospital which defies any comparison to the past is William- sport's Divine Providence Hospital. It has sprung, almost as it were, out of the earth itself. As the youngest hos- pital in Lycoming County, it is nonetheless a primary contri- butor to the medical care of Lycoming County and many neigh- boring counties. Today, the Williamsport and Divine Provi- dence hospitals share in providing most of the major medical and rehabilitation programs available in any of the impor- tant hospitals in the state.
Along with the developments in short-term hospital care, the county has made significant progress in the long-term. care of elderly patients. Among the new geriatric and nursing care facilities which have opened are the new Williamsport Home, Sycamore Manor, the Leader Nursing homes in William- sport and Jersey Shore, and the new geriatric unit at the Muncy Valley Hospital. These facilities have helped to lessen the chronic shortage of nursing care beds in the county. Still more beds for geriatric patients are required, however, if future needs are to be met.
THE WILLIAMSPORT HOSPITAL
An important impetus to the growth of hospital facilities across the country was the introduction of pre-paid health insurance in the early 1940's. As a result, most hospitals experienced an increase in patient loads. The facilities at the Williamsport Hospital were stretched to capacity. 1952, a new V-shaped addition was made to the main hospital building, which had been constructed in 1926. The new addi- tion provided extra space for a number of key services and departments. Since then, numerous other expansion projects have enabled the hospital to keep pace with the most recent developments in medical treatment and technology.
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The hospital has also constructed a new building to house the School of Nursing. In 1969, a three-story Rehabilitation Center was dedicated. This has made possible a highly ef- fective program in all facets of physical therapy. Then, in 1972, the hospital opened a Medical Center nearby. This building houses numerous doctors' offices and hospital de- partments, including the Family Practice Group, part of the hospital's Family Practice Residency Program, through which graduate doctors carry a patient case load, providing the community with much-needed family care and young doctors
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with clinical contact. Currently, twenty-one physicians participate in the three-year Residency Program. Finally, in 1974 the Core Services Building was dedicated, housing new operating rooms, an X-ray department, emergency rooms, and extensive laboratory facilities.
Deserving of much credit for the growth and expansion of the Williamsport Hospital are Daniel W. Hartman, Harry R. Gibson and Clive R. Waxman. As administrator of the hospi- tal from 1943 to 1959, and building fund coordinator from 1959 to 1974, Mr. Hartman participated in many of the hos- pital's expansion programs. Mr. Hartman was succeeded as administrator by Mr. Waxman in 1964. During Mr. Waxman's tenure most of the expansion at the hospital has occurred, including construction of the Rehabilitation Center, the Medical Center and the Core Services Building. Local attorney Harry R. Gibson became a member of the hospital's board in 1951, and served as its chairman from 1958 to 1976. He is still a member of the board and has contributed greatly to the hospital's development.
In 1971 the title of hospital administrator was changed to president; reorganization of the hospital's corporate struc- ture followed in 1973. Both the Board of Managers ( consis- ting of medical and lay representatives) and the administra- tion of the hospital have provided the vision and energy necessary to make it a quality medical facility for Lycoming County.
By 1977, the Williamsport Hospital had achieved a total capacity of 370 beds and 30 bassinets -- 120 more beds than the entire county had in 1940. Apart from the Rehabilitation Center, the hospital has installed a Cardiopulmonary Center for the treatment of patients suffering from heart and lung ailments. A heart catheterization laboratory makes possible the latest techniques in the detection and treatment of heart disease. The Williamsport Hospital is the recognized neurological and neuro-surgical referral center for north- central Pennsylvania.
The hospital owns a Computerized Axial Tomography Unit worth nearly one-half million dollars. This machine has revolu- tionized the procedure for diagnosing most forms of brain disease and diseases of body organs. The hospital also operates a Sonography Unit which can analyze anatomical structures of the body without the use of harmful radiation. The hospital plans to acquire still more equipment for use in the field of neurology and the treatment of brain and nervous system disorders.
EMERGENCY ROOM AND CLINICS
Around the clock emergency room service was initiated at the
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Williamsport Hospital in 1970. Medical staff for the Emer- gency Room is provided by the Emergency Care Physicians Association which was organized specifically for this pur- pose. Another service of the hospital is made available through the Family Planning Clinic, opened in 1971. The clinic offers information to couples who want help in plan- ning the size of their families, and in spacing the arrival of children. Other clinics at the hospital provide ser- vices in gynecology, surgery, pre-natal, post-partum, stroke, cardiac, dermatology, seizure, dental, amputee, muscular dystrophy, crippled children, scoliosis and orthopedics.
Educational programs at the hospital include the oldest func- tioning nursing school in Pennsylvania. Along with this are programs in medical technology and medical transcription. The Nursing School and Lycoming College have had a recipro- cal arrangement since the 1940's enabling the nursing stu- dents to take courses in the basic sciences at the college, as well as English, the social sciences and the humanities. The hospital has clinical affiliations with colleges and universities throughout the East and South; students come to the hospital to participate in clinical work in numerous medical disciplines, including physical and occupational therapy.
DIVINE PROVIDENCE HOSPITAL
The Divine Providence Hospital also has had an impressive history so that the stories of both hospitals merge into a medical boon for Lycoming County. At the end of World War II Divine Providence Hospital was still only a dream in the mind of a Roman Catholic sister who grew up in Williamsport. Mary Hills, who became Mother Theresilla of the Sisters of Christian Charity, had wanted to open a nursing home for the elderly in Williamsport, but circumstances never per- mitted. Then in 1944, with the aid and advice of Father Leo J. Post, pastor of St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church, the Sisters of Christian Charity purchased a tract of land along Grampian Boulevard from the Faxon Land Company for the sum of $17,500. In 1945, a massive fund raising campaign was undertaken with a goal of $700,000. In just five months the drive surpassed its target when a total of $732,000 had been collected, mainly from sources within Lycoming County.
A charter was granted for the hospital on February 24, 1947, and construction was begun in June, 1948. But soon infla- tion had bloated construction costs to the point where yet another $600,000 was necessary to put the new hospital under roof. A second fund drive was launched, and in just one month the essential money was in hand. Construction work was allowed to continue unhindered. Divine Providence Hospital was on its way to becoming a reality. The plans
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called for a 185-bed, fully equipped hospital for medical, surgical and obstetrical cases. Mother Theresilla's dream had come true and Lycoming County became the home of a fourth hospital when Divine Providence opened its doors June 1, 1951. Little perhaps did Mother Theresilla realize the future expansion of Divine Providence Hospital into such an important medical complex.
DIVINE PROVIDENCE EXPANDS
The mortar had barely dried before extensions were necessary to Divine Providence Hospital. Between 1951 and 1967, a chapel, auditorium, convent, and a school of X-ray techno- logy were added. In 1959, a new west wing was dedicated. In the late 1960's new expansion became essential when the Lycoming-Clinton County Mental Health/Mental Retardation Office designated Divine Providence as the location for the Community Mental Health Center. In order to make room for the mental health service, the hospital built a health services building in 1972. The new building also houses the basic services program which offers routine medical care to persons without a personal physician.
Finally, in 1975, Divine Providence added an east wing to its main building. The East Wing contains the inpatient unit of the Mental Health Center, a new 24-hour emergency room service, the kidney Hemodialysis Center, the Cancer Treatment Center and the Intensive Care/Cardiac Care Unit. Also housed in the new wing are the latest in X-ray and nuclear medicine devices for the detection of internal bodily disorders. Today, the Divine Providence Hospital has a total of 250 beds, bringing the combined capacity of it and the Williamsport Hospital to 620 beds.
The medical field has come a great distance since 1940, and Williamsport's two hospitals have progressed with it. In that year the diagnosis of cancer in a patient was a dreaded and distressing occurrence. But though no certain cure for cancer has yet been discovered, with early diagnosis nearly half of all cancer can be eliminated through a combination of treatments, including drugs and radiation therapy. The Divine Providence Hospital possesses a linear accelerator for the treatment of cancer. This machine, which cost nearly $400,000, applies high concentrations of radiation to affected body tissue by means of a laser gun. The laser beams often are successful at destroying cancer cells.
HEMODIALYSIS
Divine Providence Hospital is also the hemodialysis or kidney machine center for nine counties. Here kidney pa- tients undergo two or three times weekly the six-hour "blood-washing" process to remove accumulations of poisons
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from the blood. Finally, the hospital, originating the "Meals-on-Wheels" in Lycoming County in 1970, has operated the program continuously since that date under the auspices of the Lycoming-Clinton Bi County Office for the Aging. This program provides one or two nutritious or therapeutic meals a day to many elderly citizens of the county who otherwise could not cook for themselves. Besides delivering meals to many individual homes, meals-on-wheels serves community meals several times a week at six locations in Lycoming County and two in Clinton County. The meals are prepared for distribution at Divine Providence Hospital and Ascension Roman Catholic Church in Williamsport.
In opposite directions from Williamsport are the Jersey Shore and Muncy Valley hospitals. Both were founded by groups of physicians early in this century. Large mansions were used in each case as hospital buildings. Eventually larger, modern buildings became necessary. The poor roads of the time and lack of adequate transportation made it difficult for persons in these areas to get to Williamsport for hospital care. Further, a shortage of graduate nurses meant that families and neighbors themselves had to tend to the seriously ill in their homes. The quality of this care was understandably limited and often unsatisfactory. Hence, there was the need for hospitals in the smaller communities. By 1951, both Jersey Shore and Muncy had new hospital buildings to help overcome the deficiencies of the older "mansion hospitals," that had fulfilled a need in their day.
JERSEY SHORE HOSPITAL
In 1937, the three proprietor doctors and the family of the fourth gave the Jersey Shore Hospital to the borough. Founded in 1911, the hospital was located in the former L. D. Herritt house on Thompson Street. Its 21 beds and eight bassinets seem insignificant by today's standards. By 1958, another wing had been added, providing 63 beds. The largest single expansion project at the hospital occurred in 1969. The old Herritt house was razed and a new three-story build- ing erected in its place. New physical therapy rooms, de- livery rooms, a nursery and other facilities were part of the project.
Finally, a five-bed Coronary Care Unit was added in 1970. This raised the total bed capacity of the hospital to its current 91. Recent new services provided by the hospital include a Nuclear Medicine Department opened in 1976. This enables the hospital to undertake scans for diagnostic purposes. Also an out-patient department was instituted in 1977. The very latest expansion project was the four suite Medical Office Building opened in 1978. The hospital anti- cipates the expansion of its X-ray Department in the future.
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Williamsport Hospital
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Divine Providence Hospital
/WIDMAN JEAH'S
POR , STORE
Widmann and Teah Fire, 1945 Third and Pine Streets
LOYALSOCK VOLUNTEER FIRE CO. NO.1
Loyalsock Volunteer Fire Company
MUNCY VALLEY HOSPITAL
In like manner to the Jersey Shore Hospital, Muncy Valley Hospital was founded in 1922, by a group of concerned doctors. The hospital first opened in the Noble family house on East Water Street in Muncy. Originally, the hos- pital was controlled by doctors, but in 1940, lay members were admitted to the board. In 1951, the hospital moved into a new building on East Water Street; the old Noble house was renovated for use as a geriatric unit. Geriatric care has remained a major part of the hospital's program ever since. In 1957, a new east wing was attached to the hospital; eleven years later a second-story was added.
In that same year, 1968, a new and improved geriatric ward was opened, but the crowning 60 bed geriatric ward was opened in 1972. Money for this unit was funded partially by the county commissioners who use 30 of the 60 beds to ease the load at Lysock View, the county home. Projects remaining to be concluded at the Muncy Valley Hospital are the opening of a new emergency and operating room complex. The hospital currently has a capacity for 68 patients and 60 long term geriatric patients. As at the Jersey Shore Hospital, progress has steadily moved the Muncy Valley Hospital forward.
FIRE COMPANIES
The fire companies of Lycoming County provide another im- portant service to county residents, a service which has grown considerably since 1940. Williamsport has the only full-time professional fire department in the county. Over 60 professional firemen are employed at four fire stations around the city. The Williamsport Bureau of Fire celebrat- ed its 100th year of service in 1974. Fire protection in the remainder of Lycoming County is provided by volunteer fire companies, many of which have organized since 1940. Until the 1950's and early 1960's, vast regions of the county were dependent upon a few scattered volunteer com- panies. The situation today is much improved though the Trout Run and Pine Creek Volunteer Fire companies still must serve very large territories.
VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANIES FORMED
The formation of volunteer fire companies was spurred by the steady increase in property values and growing population of rural areas. Both factors helped demonstrate the glaring need for improved fire protection in many regions of the county. Consequently, numerous community-minded individuals banded together to provide volunteer fire protection. This makes the volunteer fire company a truly grass roots phenom- enon. Men and women devote many hours to raising money and
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maintaining fire company equipment without pay or personal gain. The volunteers receive a different sort of compensa- tion. The fellowship and cooperation among the volunteers helps to create a sense of community pride and concern. Usually their work together is more like pleasure than a tolerable burden, but their greatest compensation is the satisfaction of knowing that through their efforts, property and possibly lives are more secure.
Among the 32 volunteer fire companies in Lycoming County, there are 1,000 active fire fighting volunteers. Another 1, 300 volunteers provide back-up support of various kinds. Besides fighting fires, the volunteer companies render assistance in rescue and disaster operations. In floods, at accidents or other disasters, the fire companies are available to help with rescue and/or medical procedures. A total of 14 fire companies throughout the county operate ambulance services. In 1976, there were 23 ambulances on call, including three operated by the American Legion Post 617. These ambulance facilities contribute greatly to the well-being and peace of mind of all county residents.
Among the oldest volunteer fire companies in the county is the Independent Hose Company of Jersey Shore, formed in the 1890's. The newest one is the Allenwood Prison Fire Com- pany. While all the companies are worthy of recognition, the Loyalsock Township Volunteer Fire Company gained con- siderable notoriety through an article about its operations in the March 11, 1950 Saturday Evening Post. The maga- zine portrayed the Loyalsock company as a fine example of an efficient, well-run volunteer fire company.
THE WEST BRANCH FIREMEN'S ASSOCIATION
In 1932, a new chapter in the history of the county's volunteer fire companies was written when the West Branch Firemen's Association, Inc. was formed. The original members of the Association were the Hughesville, Montgomery, Montoursville and Muncy Volunteer Fire Companies. Today all 33 of the fire companies in the county belong. The function of the Association is "to protect life and property and to minimize fire damage caused by enemy attack or natural disaster."
The Association provides a means of coordinating the efforts of all 33 fire companies in the event of such a disaster. Another important function of the Association is its annual fire-training school in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Instruction. Two days each year county firemen are offered instruction in the latest fire- fighting and rescue techniques.
The West Branch Firemen's Association was instrumental in
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establishing the Lycoming County Emergency Communications Network. In 1974, the Association petitioned the county commissioners to organize a central communications net- work for the county. No immediate action was taken, but the seed was planted. Then in March, 1975, the county de- partments of communications, emergency medical services and Civil Defense were combined into one, under the supervision of a newly appointed County Civil Defense Director.
By March, 1976, a county communications system was installed in the Civil Defense office in the Courthouse basement. A used communications console was purchased for $9,500. Eleven fire companies and four ambulance services partici- pated initially in the program. It is anticipated that by the end of 1978, all emergency services in the county will belong to the communications network.
The county communications system will eventually provide a central receiving and dispatching center for all emergency calls in the county. Once an emergency call is received by the dispatcher, the appropriate fire company, ambulance ser- vice or police agency is notified immediately by radio. The dispatcher can also activate the fire sirens at each fire station. In the event of a fire, all volunteer fire- men will receive the report simultaneously, assuming they have their radio receivers turned on. This is an enormous advance over the days when firemen had to spread word of a fire by means of a telephone roster.
Another advantage of the communication system is its use- fulness in coordinating emergency operations in case of a countywide crisis or disaster. Through this system the County Civil Defense Director is able to have immediate and total contact with all areas of the county in supervising relief efforts. A new, more versatile communications con- sole was installed at the center in 1978. This will greatly enhance the reliability of the system and serve its needs for sometime to come. Lycoming County's emergency communi- cations have entered the 20th century, thanks in part to the efforts of the West Branch Firemen's Association.
FIREMEN'S CARNIVALS
There remains an aspect of the volunteer fire company which harks back to a by-gone age, and that is the source of in- come. The firemen's carnival continues to provide the ma- jor source of funding for many volunteer fire companies in the county, all of which are financially self-supporting. Cotton candy, french fries, Ferris wheels and merry-go- rounds transcend the passing of time. Smaller fire com- panies also capitalize on the entertainment business. The firemen's festivals and chicken barbeques provide occasions not only for the fire fighters and their families to raise
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operating funds, but also for communities to join in some fun and to spend some money in a good cause.
Saturday night bingo is still another fund raising technique which doubles as a social event. It is not so much the prizes that attract the avid bingo player as it is the chance of the game and the opportunity for social activity. All these methods, along with direct public solicitation, have made it possible for the volunteer fire companies to organize, to build new fire houses and to purchase new equipment. They also show that the volunteer fire companies depend as much upon the general public for their success as upon the charter members.
THE LIBRARIES
An important service to any community is the public library where citizens can go to relax and to read any number of magazines and newspapers or sign out books and records to be enjoyed at home. Larger libraries offer other services such as film rental and story hours for children, art ex- hibits and "talking books" for the blind and the seeing im- paired. These and other services are available to citizens of Lycoming County from its library, the James V. Brown Library in Williamsport. Residents of outlying regions can go to the nearest borough library where services from the Brown Library are available to them. Hughesville, Montgomery, Muncy, Montoursville and Jersey Shore all have libraries which are associated with the Brown Library in Williamsport.
The oldest of the borough libraries is the Montgomery Public Library, opened in 1906, one year before the Brown Library itself. The newest and largest of the borough libraries is the Jersey Shore Library, opened in 1950, which shares its facilities with the Jersey Shore Area High School. This is not Jersey Shore's first public library, for as far back as the 1890's one was in existence there. The Dr. W. B. Konkle Memorial Library in Montoursville was founded in 1943, through a bequest given by Dr. Konkle. The James V. Brown Library branch at the Montoursville High School closed in 1957 when it was obvious the Konkle Library was adequately serving the needs of that community.
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