©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Chestnut Hill Hospital is ready for renovation
Plans call for the demolition of the 85-year-old Laughlin Hall
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

The 85-year-old Laughlin Hall will be demolished as part of the $43 million in capital improvements Chestnut Hill Hospital plans to implement over the next five years. (Photo by Kristin Pazulski)

Chestnut Hill Hospital is getting ready to demolish an 85-year-old building to make way for a modern facility. The demolition of Laughlin Hall and the construction of a new four-story wing, an addition to the cancer-treating radiation oncology center and a parking garage are all part of the hospital’s 1991 master plan. Hospital officers will present the details of the plan at the Chestnut Hill Community Association’s Development and Review Committee meeting on Tuesday, July 18.

The city has already granted the hospital permission to begin removing materials from Laughlin Hall in preparation for demolition, said the hospital’s Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Nalli at the July 6 Land Use and Planning Committee meeting. The demolition is anticipated to begin in September, though the hospital still needs to obtain its demolition permit.

The hospital additions will include improvements to the operating rooms, emergency department, labor and delivery suites and higher radiation/cancer treating technology, Nalli said.

The hospital’s master plan is a variation of one presented to the CHCA in 1991. The master plan was discussed within the CHCA’s zoning and review committees for months as neighbors and the hospital worked to iron out differences over the size of the proposed expansion, the parking garage and helipad, increased traffic patterns and the future of several Norwood Avenue homes owned by the hospital. That plan included a two-floor addition to the medical building, a two-floor addition to the south wing of the hospital, a four-story patient wing where Laughlin Hall currently stands, and an addition to the family practice. The entire proposal would have added 155,315 square feet to the hospital.

In the end, the CHCA voted to support the master plan after the parking garage and helipad were removed from the plans and pending an arrangement to preserve the remaining Norwood Avenue homes and the property’s green space.

Since the CHCA approved of its master plan, the hospital completed the two-story additions to the south wing and medical building and sold the two Norwood Avenue properties to private owners. 8840 Norwood Ave. was sold about five years ago and the house at 8860 was sold this past spring. The hospital still owns about one-third of the 8860 Norwood Ave. property, though the private owner enjoys a use easement for that land parcel. The hospital retained the parcel to ensure that the proposed expansion would not push the hospital’s total developed square footage over the percentage allowed by zoning regulations. The hospital’s footprint cannot cover more than 30 percent of its property.

Moving forward

At the CHCA’s Jan. 26 board meeting, the hospital introduced the board to its latest master plan for the campus, and after the loss of its assistant chief of staff, Lisa Mallon, and chief of staff, Rodney D. Reider, the hospital completed the details of the plan to make a formal presentation to the CHCA. The new administrators said at the LUPZ meeting that they plan to follow the proper community procedures in implementing the entire $43 million of capital improvements during the next five years.

At the DRC meeting on Tuesday, July 18, 7:30 p.m. at the Chestnut Hill Baptist Church, 2 Bethlehem Pike, the hospital will present further details on the planned expansion to the community and CHCA. Hospital spokesperson Catherine Brzozowski was not able to provide the total square footage of the proposed expansion, but said the first phase of the radiation oncology addition was about 2,700 square feet. The proposed uses for the addition that will replace Laughlin Hall include an emergency unit, surgical suites, intensive care unit and labor and delivery suites. The results of a traffic study by Traffic Planning and Design, Inc. of Philadelphia will be included in the DRC presentation, said Brzozowski.

Nalli said the hospital has funding set aside to extract materials from Laughlin Hall during its demolition to preserve the old building’s character in the new four-story building. The three-story Laughlin Hall was built in 1921, transforming the hospital into a 55-bed facility, including an emergency ward, operating suites and private patient rooms. Henry A. Laughlin, a neighborhood steel magnate, bought and donated the seven adjacent acres of land and buildings to the hospital. The donation came just as the hospital was considering moving out of Chestnut Hill because it had no room to expand to meet growing demand.

A history of growth

Chestnut Hill Hospital has expanded many times since it was established at 8835 Germantown Ave. in 1907, three years after it began in a location on Gravers Lane. In 1909 a two-story nurses’ home was added to the present four-story facility. In 1911 and 1912 the hospital expanded to provide additional beds, enclosed porches and a maternity ward.

A year after the construction of Laughlin Hall (1926) and the addition of a three-story building originally owned by the Richard Vaux family, the hospital Trustees considered expanding again, but the Great Depression prevented further growth until 1952.That year, a 75-bed, four-story wing was completed.

The next year, the hospital purchased the home of the late William H. Disston, which became a dorm-like home to students in the hospital’s school of nursing. The hospital was up to 127 beds, and demand rose fast.

In May 1959 the hospital nearly doubled capacity with another building addition, growing to a 225-bed facility, which unexpectedly left some beds empty for the next few years. In 1958 the hospital bought its final piece of land along Germantown Avenue with the purchase of 8811 Germantown Ave.

An expansion in 1969 served the purpose of accommodating newer technology rather than more space. The hospital demolished the Vaux building and constructed a new facility that connected Laughlin Hall and the 1952 building.

In the late 1970s, the hospital again saw the need for renovation and modernization. After a period of high turnover at the top of its administration, the hospital hired Cary Leptuck as president and CEO. Leptuk remained in charge of the hospital for more than 20 years and oversaw the hospital’s most recent additions: offices, semi-private rooms, a gift shop, chapel and other necessary wings. The changes reduced the number of licensed beds to 200, which is now at 183. Nalli said at the LUPZ meeting the newest expansion will not increase the number of inpatient beds at the hospital.

In March 2005, CHH was sold jointly to Community Health Systems based in Brentwood, Tenn., and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, converting from a non-profit organization to for-profit. The non-profit Chestnut Hill Health Care Foundation formed as a result of the sale.

The Chestnut Hill Hospital currently serves about 9,500 patients annually, offering, inpatient hospitalization, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation and outpatient surgery. The Chestnut Hill Health System also includes a senior retirement community — Springfield Residence at 551 E. Evergreen Ave. — and a Women’s Center.

For more information about Chestnut Hill Hospital, visit online at www.chh.org.

Historical information for this article was provided by the Chestnut Hill Historical Society, and Chestnut Hill Hospital: 100 Years of Community Care by the Auxiliary of Chestnut Hill HealthCare.

Contact staff writer Kristin Pazulski at 216-248-8819 or Kristin@ChestnuthillLocal.com.