The Western Pennsylvania Hospital

1848
First public hospital chartered in Pittsburgh

1862
First to build a hospital for the insane in the area

1863
First in the area to serve as a veterans hospital

1883
First in the area to sponsor a medical college

1886
First area hospital to install a telephone switchboard

1937
First hospital to develop and use time-lapse photography for research purposes

1959
First hospital in Pittsburgh to open an intensive care unit

1967
First in the area to perform a bone marrow transplant

1969
First non-university hospital in Western Pennsylvania to be accredited in continuing medical education by the American Medical Association

1970
First area hospital to establish medical care on an outpatient basis through the Mellon Pavilion Ambulatory Care Facility

1971
First hospital in Pittsburgh to build a heliport

1980
First hospital to operate a state-licensed daycare center

1982
First hospital to operate a state-licensed kindergarten

1982
First teen and young adult Spina Bifida Clinic in Pennsylvania

1985
First hospital in the area to open a center dedicated exclusively to breast diagnostic imaging

1995
First hospital in Pittsburgh totally dedicated to patient-focused care

1997
First Burn Center to receive verification from the American College of Surgeons and American Burn Association

2006
First hospital in Pittsburgh and the region to achieve Magnet Recognition® from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for excellence in nursing services.