Robert Packer Hospital

Description

Robert Packer Hospital is a 238bed tertiary care teaching hospital serving the southern tier of New York and the northern tier of Pennsylvania A community resource since 1885 the hospital is a large part of area history Robert Packer Hospital is known for specialized services such as

Mission Vision amp Values
Mission
Guthrie works with the communities we serve to help each person attain optimal lifelong health and wellbeing We will do so by providing integrated clinicallyadvanced services that prevent diagnose and treat disease within an environment of compassion learning and discovery

Vision
Guthrie Healths customer experiences and advanced clinical services will be so exceptional that patients and referring physicians will always prefer to use Guthrie

Core Values
Patientcenteredness

Teamwork

Excellence

Purpose
Making a meaningful difference in the lives of the people we serve through excellence and compassion in health care

History

Guthries beginnings can be traced to the arrival of the Lehigh Valley Railroad in Sayre By 1880 Sayre had the thirdlargest rail shop in America encompassing 70 acres and employing 5000 men Injuries were common and in 1885 Robert Packer Hospital was founded The original hospital was located in the mansion of Robert Packer the director of the Lehigh Valley Railroad who died in 1883 Guthrie Clinic was founded in 1910 by Dr Donald Guthrie whose vision was to create a multispecialty group practice to serve the Bradford County region

History Statistics
A History of Guthrie Railroad Hospital to StateoftheArt Medical Center

Guthries beginnings can be traced to the arrival of the railroad in the Bradford County region in the mid1800s

Sayre named for the Lehigh Valley Railroads chief engineer of construction Robert Sayre of Bethlehem PA was founded in 1870 Robert Packer for whom the hospital is named was the director of the railroad from 1879 until his death in 1883 He left behind a large mansion that his sister inherited

Robert Packer
By 1885 over 1500 men were employed in the 70acre Sayre rail shop the third largest in the country at the time A railroad dispensary served as the only health care for workers and injured men were often transported there in wheelbarrows The need for a hospital was apparent Townspeople approached Packers sister about donating the mansion for use as a railroad workers hospital She agreed and in 1885 Robert Packer Hospital was granted a charter It opened on July 7 1885 and its first patient railroad worker Alonzo House was treated for a case of bronchitis on July 27

The Robert Packer Hospital School of Nursing was founded in 1901 and graduated 2514 nurses before closing in 1989 Guthrie continues nursing education on the Sayre campus through Mansfield University The fourstory nurses residence was completed in 1927

Dr Donald Guthrie came to Sayre in 1910 from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN to become surgeoninchief and administrator of Robert Packer Hospital Later the same year Dr Guthrie founded Guthrie Clinic which was intended to be a multispecialty group practice like that of the Mayo brothers in Minnesota under whom Dr Guthrie trained Today Guthrie Clinic is one of the oldest multispecialty group practices in the country

The first Clinic building was completed in 1928 It was built under the auspices of Robert Packer Hospital to provide offices for the growing medical staff

The Hewitt Pavilion a major portion of the hospitals inpatient care area burned to the ground on May 3 1933 along with the womens solarium and the mens surgical and orthopedic wards All patients were successfully evacuated and rebuilding began immediately

Groundbreaking for Troy Community Hospital began in 1950 Troy Community Hospital became part of the Guthrie system in 1985 followed by Sayre House in 1988 and Tioga Senior Care Community in 1996

Dr Donald Guthrie founder of Guthrie Clinic died on October 30 1958 He had led the hospital and Clinic for nearly 50 years and his death left a void in both institutions

Guthries first openheart surgery was performed in 1959 by Dr Harold Liddle and Guthries heart program was established in 1966 with the arrival of Dr William Sewell who pioneered the operation for improving coronary artery circulation through vein graft transplantation Guthrie physicians now perform over 350 heart operations each year including coronary artery bypass grafts and valve replacement

Robert Packers mansion which was built in 1877 and comprised the original portion of the hospital was demolished in 1961 to make way for the xray and outpatient surgery wing The Clinic and hospital became separate fiscal entities with separate administrators in 1962

In 1972 Dr John Thomas became president of Guthrie Clinic His vision of expanding the Clinic including the Clinic regional offices and the construction of the current Clinic building resulted in the Guthrie network as we know it today

In 1975 the Pastoral Care Program was established and the Century One and Two building projects began These projects are largely responsible for the creation of Guthries Sayre campus as we see it today Some of the buildings and wings added during this decadelong project include the main hospital building the operating suite the cafeteria the xray wing the Emergency Department ICU and the Behavioral Science Center

In 1976 Guthrie Clinic opened its new physician office building a fivestory structure adjacent to Robert Packer Hospital that includes the purple orange green and yellow sections A year later the Clinic opened its first regional office in Troy designed to provide primary care to a small community with direct access to specialists in Sayre Today Guthrie Clinic has 23 regional offices in New York and Pennsylvania

The Guthrie Research Institute was formed in 1980 with funds from the estate of Mrs Donald Guthrie The Research Institute is focused on learning more about how cells interact with each other at the molecular level and how these interactions change when diseases such as cancer are present The Research Institute also has an international presence in the area of latex allergies

Troy Community Hospital and Bradford County Citizens Health Foundation later renamed Guthrie Home Care joined Guthrie in 1985

Troy Community Hospitals innovative Ventilator Management program began in 1989 the same year that Guthrie Clinic completed a second fivestory building red and blue sections

Guthrie Healthcare System was formed in 1990 joining a variety of care options and facilities under one umbrella Guthrie Clinics Corning Centerway office opened in 1990 employing 50 physicians who provide primary and specialty care to complement the services of Corning Hospital

Guthrie Hospice began serving patients in 1991 Two years later the Family Medicine Residency Program began at Robert Packer Hospital and Guthrie Clinic

The Paul Gerry Dialysis Center opened at Robert Packer Hospital in 1997 In 1998 Robert Packer Hospital opened a stateof theart subacute unit

Dr Lynn Smaha Guthrie cardiologist and vice president of corporate affairs for Guthrie Clinic was named president of the American Heart Association in 1999 This same year Corning Hospital affiliated with Guthrie expanding Guthries care network in New York

Guthrie has come along way since the first horsedrawn ambulance rolled up to Robert Packers Victorian mansion Guthrie is now a stateoftheart health system that includes three hospitals Guthrie Clinic 23 regional offices four nursing homes and numerous other services available to a 40county region of Pennsylvania and New York Guthrie and its employees take pride in serving the community with the most sophisticated procedures and equipment and in delivering this care with a helping hand and a friendly smile