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THE OLD PITTSTON HOSPITAL
The Pittston hospital had been built in 1892 on land that was owned by the Pennsylvania Coal Company, who graciously allowed the hospital to be built in the Oregon Heights section of the city on three and one-half acres, for the benefit of the community.
The original plans for the hospital included no private rooms. Instead two large wards, each containing 30 beds, were built to take care of the miners who were injured at one of the 72 collieries in Pittston or the railroad employees from the Coxton Yards. Many thought they would fill the establishment. It soon became apparent, however, that accidents at home would also include women and children in the hospital as patients.
The need for a new hospital became apparent as the number of cases grew from 22 per day to more than 55 a day. The increased need for nurses also demanded a need for longer training. When the nursing school first began, the school requirement was two years. Now, by the mid 1920s, the requirement was up to three years. A place for the nurses to stay in overnight and the increased daily caseload prompted a call for new facilities.
By 1925, plans were under way to build a new brick hospital. That was done by 1927 when the daily patient numbers increased to 68. The new hospital had a capacity of 150 beds to serve the surrounding community of over 50,000. The former hospital was turned into a nurses’ residence.
The main hospital now houses a daycare, a medical supply center, and a few other places. I used to work for a pharmacy there, CCRX. I got to tour the hospital upstairs. It used to be dorms, apartments, and I got to see the morgue and an operating room! It had old pieces of equipment. And what a view they had from the windows! Overlooks the river. So feel free to take a swing around the building since it houses quite a few businesses.