Sacred Heart Hospital History

During the widespread diphtheria outbreak of 1911-12, Right Reverend Monsignor Peter Masson petitioned the Missionary Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart religious order in Germany to help care for the sick and injured of the Sacred Heart Parish. Six Sisters arrives from Hiltrup, Germany, on June 15, 1912 (coincidentally the feast of the Sacred Heart). They moved into the old parish rectory, 417 Pine Street, and started their work. This was the actual “start” of Sacred Heart Hospital.

As diphtheria raged, the Sisters gave dispensary service as well as visiting nurse service. Hence, the old rectory became a temporary hospital. On November 20, 1913, the Judge Harvey Mansion was purchased.

Formal Dedication and the School of Nursing
In 1915, the actual founding of Sacred Heart Hospital as a community institution was formalized and dedicated by Monsignor Peter Masson. Eleven Sisters took over the Mansion, which soon contained 33 patient beds, while the old Pine Street building was used for maternity patients. The estate’s carriage house and servant’s quarters were converted for use for patients having communicable diseases.  Two years later, Sacred Heart Hospital was officially incorporated under Pennsylvania law.

The Sacred Heart Hospital School of Nursing was organized in 1916 and a three story nurse’s home was built on Chew and Penn Streets in 1924, with additions in 1929 and 1944.  The school was closed in 1980.

Early Recognition and Expansion
To meet the demands of the growing community, a new building was constructed on the corner of Fourth and Pine Streets in 1919, offering complete care for 165 patients.  In 1920, Sacred Heart received approval to train interns and in 1922 was accredited by the American College of Surgeons.

In 1929, as increased patient load and expansion of services began to tax the original facility, the Service Wing was built, housing Diagnostic Radiology.  The next year saw completion of the Administration Wing and the relocation of the main entrance from Fourth to Chew Street.

The Trexler Memorial Wing was constructed in 1947 and included a new Outpatient Department plus a modern Therapeutic Radiology Department.  The upper three floors added 45 private patient rooms.  The Monsignor Masson Memorial Wing was erected in 1950 and included an auditorium, a hospital chapel and a new convent.  Today, the ground level contains the Emergency Department. In 1954, a four-story, graduate nurse’s home, Seton Hall, was constructed at Fourth and Chew Streets.

The first Cobalt- 60 unit in the Lehigh Valley was added in 1956 to the Therapeutic Radiology Department and in 1971 the first 4,000,000 Electron Volt Linear Accelerator in the area was installed.

The Pasteur Wing was completed in 1957.  The totally air-conditioned, five story building housed a pathology Laboratory, Operating Room suite, three private and semi-private nursing units, plus living quarters for residents and interns on the top floor. 

Recent Developments
1971- The Speech and Hearing Center was established.  The center provides clinical training for students enrolled in speech and hearing programs.

1976- Two major dedications occured.  First, in May, the Dr. Henry Kozloff Ambulatory Center is dedicated.  In addition to the Hospital’s major Emergency Department, the Kozloff Center contains an array of non-emergency treatment and examining facilities.

1976- The seven story Trexler Tower, which dominates the exterior of Sacred Heart Hospital, was dedicated on July 11, 1976 and contains the OB/GYN Department, Critical Care Unit as well as the dietary department and gift shop.

1984- The Butz Tower increased bed capacity from 205 to 243 beds.  This tower houses two patient care floors, a birthing suite, an SPU unit, an expanded surgical suite and recovery room, Coronary and Triage Care Unit, the Auditorium and Conference Center and other ancillary services.

1989- Sacred Heart Hospital was one of the first hospitals in the area to develop an acute pain management system.  Anesthesiologists and surgeons work together to eliminate or greatly reduce post-operative pain, enabling patients to recover more quickly with fewer complications.

1990- The Sacred Heart Regional Epilepsy Center opened, offering a state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment facility for patients with seizure disorders.  A multidisciplinary team conducts thorough neurological evaluation of patients referred by physicians and other allied health professionals.  Twenty-four hour ambulatory EEGs are performed in a long-term video-monitoring suite. 

1992- Sacred Heart Hospital began offering hemodialysis to inpatients.  Specially trained staff use the newest equipment available to provide this service.

1992- The hospital opened their endoscopy suite to offer state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment services to patients with all kinds of gastro-intestinal medical problems. 

1993- The Birth Place, Sacred Heart Hospital’s maternity suite opened, providing a birthing room with a home-like environment where the mother-to-be can labor, deliver, recover and receive post-partum care, all in the same room.

1993- The Sleep Disorders Center opened.  Patients referred to the facility generally suffer from conditions such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy and insomnia.  Patients are placed in comfortable, home-like surroundings and hooked up to painless monitoring devices that measure bodily functions.

1995- The Center for Cancer Care opened.  The center offers access to leading edge cancer treatments from the most advanced uses of radiation- including a linear accelerator and simulator- and chemotherapy, to highly sophisticated approaches such as interstitial brachytherapy.

2003- The Comprehensive Wound Healing Center opened, which offers outpatient care for individuals suffering with wounds that will not heal or have not responded to medical treatment provided elsewhere. Also in the same year, the hospital launched the gastric bypass service line, which is also known as weight loss surgery.