Valley Forge General Hospital
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Valley Forge General Hospital is a former military hospital in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. The hospital is near both Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Valley Forge. It was the ONLY U.S. Army General Hospital named for a place.
[edit] History
The hospital was built in 1942, and opened on Washington's Birthday in 1943 to care for the wounded of World War II. It became the largest military hospital in the United States. Eventually, the hospital had well over 3,000 patients and over 100 separate buildings. One feature of the hospital was its design of primarily two story buildings, interconnected by corridors. There were very long ramps leading from one floor to the other, to facilitate movement of wheelchairs, gurneys, etc..
The exterior was all red brick, and looked like a New England College Campus. The interior was all wood, a looked like virtually any military building built during World War II. It was a maze of corridors, and newly assigned personnel regularly became lost.
The Army planned to shut down V.F.G.H. in 1950, but the Korean war began, and it stayed open. The final closing came in 1975, although it had stopped functioning as a hospital the previous year.
The site is now occupied by the Valley Forge Christian College.
The above corrected history is based upon two booklets published by Valley Forge General Hospital. The first was published in 1944, and the second was published for the 25th anniversary of the hospital in 1968. That second booklet had an extensive history of the hospital, as well as many pictures of its construction.
[edit] Popular culture
The hospital is the setting for the 1951 film Bright Victory.
Many of the techniques used in rethabilitating blinded persons were first developed and used at Valley Forge. It was one of the foremost medical units in rehabilitation of blinded personnel in the world. The Acrylic Eye (for people who had lost an eyeball) was invented by one of the dentists at Valley Forge. it is still in use today.
The Department of Psychiatry and Neurology was among the world leaders in Psychiatric treatments. Many new medications were first utilized there, and many treatment techniques were developed there. The Physicians, nurses and the Neuropsychiatric technicians sent tens of thousands of cured personnel back to duty. The return to duty rate following treatement was much higher than in the vast majority of civilian hospitals.
The famous actor, Gene Wilder, was a Neuropsychiatric technician at Valley Forge General Hospital in the late 1950's.
In the late 1960's, Valley Forge General Hospital became the home of a "Clinical Specialist" training program (military MOS 91C). At that time, a person had to have been a medic for at least 2 years, and have a minimum of 2 years remaining on their enlistment after completing the school, in order to be accepted. This was advanced training for nine months, on top of all previous training and experience. I have fond memories of the 91Charlie school there. It was intense, and very, very comprehensive. That training enabled me to challenge the R.N. boards after I left the Army.
The personnel stationed at Valley Forge General Hospital had no married housing available to them. As a result, they rented housing in Phoenixville, Norristown, Pottstown and virtually all of the other local communities. Many of the personnel joined local groups. This writer was an active member of Forge Theater from 1964-1969.
Each of the enlisted personnel assigned to Valley Forge General Hospital had to undergo basic fire training. They were trained in how to use fire hoses and various nozzles, how to drive fire trucks, and how to use a wife variety of fire equipment. As the entire interior of the hospital was wood, and most of the buildings were interconnected, this training was essential. Many of the married enlisted personnel also joined local volunteer fire departments, where that training paid off.
After the film "Bright Victory" came out, all personnel assigned to the hospital were required to see that movie.
Valley Forge General Hospital was extensively upgraded in the late 1960's, at a cost of millions of dollars. Then, the new Surgeon General of the Army decided that it was no longer needed, and it was closed down. It was a huge loss to the military, and to the local community.
