Did you know that TUH-Jeanes Campus once made a purchase of radium that would be worth $2.1 million today? Or that some of the architectural firms that worked on TUH-Episcopal Campus are connected to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Hershey’s Kisses, and the Panama Canal?
You can learn about all of that, and more, in the latest edition of our Temple Health’s History-Making Hospitals series. Find out everything you didn’t know about your campus—and remember to share these fun facts with your coworkers!
Building Our Reputation (TUH-Episcopal Campus)
For its first ten years, Episcopal Hospital—founded in 1852—operated out of a mansion originally owned by a wealthy merchant named John Leamy (1757-1839). A succession of purpose-built structures and additions were then added on to the building. Among the Philadelphia-based architects and builders who contributed to those projects were:
- Samuel Sloan (1815-1884), whose design for Episcopal became a model for hospitals in the US, and whose schoolhouse design, known as the “Philadelphia Plan,” was also prototypical. Sloan published the first American periodical exclusively devoted to architecture, The Architectural Review.
- James H. Windrim (1840-1919), who influenced the style of public architecture in Philadelphia well into the 20th century. His firm’s designs include the Masonic Temple (across from City Hall) and the Academy of Natural Sciences.
- Horace Trumbauer (1868-1938), whose firm’s work includes the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the “Gray Towers” in Glenside, PA (now Arcadia University), and the Philadelphia Ritz-Carlton. One of the lead architects at Trumbauer’s firm was Julian Abele, who was the first Black graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Architecture.
- Cope & Stewardson, a firm that operated between 1885 and 1912. It designed the headquarters of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and major structures for the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Washington University of St. Louis, among others.
- Day & Zimmerman, which was founded in 1901, and is one of the largest privately-held companies in the US today. Day & Zimmerman’s portfolio is wide-ranging: in 1907, it became well-known for designing the Gatun Lock System for the Panama Canal, and in 1914, it produced the foil wrapping machines used for Hershey’s Kisses.
Dr. Temple Fay’s “Cool” History (TUH-Main Campus)
In 1929, Dr. Temple Fay (1895-1963) came to Temple University Hospital as its first official head of Neurology and Neurosurgery, and put it on the map as the official birthplace of clinical cooling.
Dr. Fay demonstrated that deliberate temperature reduction of the entire, or specific parts, of the body inhibits bacterial growth, reduces inflammation, slows tumor growth, and eases pain. He treated a variety of illnesses using ice baths, cooling blankets, and wraps to reduce core body temperature and/or targeted parts of the patient’s anatomy.
He is credited with developing the first systematic program of clinical cooling to treat traumatic brain injury. To address tumors and lesions in the brain, he implanted “cold bombs,” or small metal capsules containing circulating refrigerant.
Dr. Fay was also a co-founder and a former president of the Harvey Cushing Society, which is now the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.
Radiation Innovation (Fox Chase Cancer Center)
Shortly after Marie and Pierre Curie’s discovery of radium in 1898, radiation became a new treatment for cancer. The American Oncologic Hospital (now Fox Chase Cancer Center) was instrumental in bringing it to the fore, thanks in part to Dr. William S. Newcomet (1872-1960).
Dr. Newcomet was Professor of Röntgenology and Radiology at Temple University Hospital (at the time, Samaritan Hospital) from 1912 to 1915. From 1915 to 1949, he served as Director of the Lucy B. Henderson Foundation for Radiation Therapy at Jefferson Medical College. He had been a physician at the American Oncologic Hospital early in his career, and maintained the affiliation.
According to a 1961 address that Dr. Eugene Pendergrass (Chair of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, 1939-61) delivered at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, when the American Oncologic Hospital was founded, “Dr. Newcomet was placed in charge of the X-ray department, and was a major influence in the development of cancer therapy…The Oncologic Hospital obtained its first radium in 1907. As the use of radon came into vogue, it became necessary to acquire a radon plant. As the trustees did not have the funds to purchase the unit, Dr. Newcomet successfully built a plant on his own initiative…The unit was completed in 1920 or 1921, and enabled the Oncologic Hospital to supply radon to many parts of the United States. Dr. Newcomet early became chairman of the medical staff, a position that he held for many years.”
Dr. Newcomet was a founding member of The Philadelphia Postgraduate School of Roentgenology, which, according to Dr. Pendergrass, was “the first of its kind in the United States” and “remained in existence until 1915.” The American Oncologic Hospital was one of its teaching sites.
For more than 50 years, Dr. Newcomet and his family lived at 3501 Baring Street: just a few short blocks away from Fox Chase Cancer Center, then located at 33rd and Powelton.
Radium for Rent (TUH-Jeanes Campus)
It was once commonplace for hospitals to rent facilities and equipment like X-ray machines, operating rooms, and laboratory facilities to local physicians—and Jeanes Hospital, established in 1928, was no exception.
As cancer treatment was central to Jeanes’ founding mission, the hospital opened with 100 mg of radium available in storage, which it then made available for rent. With demand for radium treatment increasing, Jeanes’ Board authorized an additional purchase to increase the hospital’s cache to 2,100 milligrams in 1931.
Radium is expensive. In the 1920s and 1930s, it cost about $100,000 per gram. That makes Jeanes’ 1931 purchase equivalent to $2.1 million today.
Radium is also very dense. A 100-gram pellet is the size of a grain of salt. That’s why strict handling, tracking, and storage protocols are essential to prevent accidental loss or theft.
Due to radium’s high cost, limited availability, and the dangers associated with handling radioactive materials, the practice of radium rental was all but discontinued by the 1950s.
Two Families (Temple Health-Chestnut Hill Hospital)
In 1951, a baby was born at Chestnut Hill Hospital with abnormalities of his larynx that made it difficult for him to breathe. He required a series of corrective surgeries.
The baby did well. But it would be three years before he would be deemed well enough to be released—just in time to celebrate Easter with his family in 1954.
In the mid-20th century, it was common for community hospitals like Chestnut Hill to house patients for extended periods. Due to the lack of alternative care sites, hospitals often served as long-term care facilities.
With such a long tenure at Chestnut Hill, the toddler was very much part of two families: the hospital’s and his own. He’s shown with Chestnut Hill Hospital nurses Thelma Strong (left) and Betty Jane Mueller (right).
