First U.S. hospitalIn 1752, the Pennsylvania Hospital, the first in America, opened in Philadelphia through the indefatigible efforts of Benjamin Franklin, who was involved in drafting the petition for its establishment and fund-raising. It was established on 11 May 1751, when the colonial governor of Pennsylvania approved its charter as a proposed hospital to include treatment of people with mental illness. The first patient was received on 11 Feb 1752, at the hospital's temporary quarters in the Judge Kinsey mansion on Market St. The Pine Street Hospital opened 17 Dec 1756, and accepted both mentally ill and general medical patients. Inmates were provided with light manual labor such as spinning and carding wool for recreational therapy activities. |