History of UPMC Lititz

UPMC Lititz (formerly Lancaster Osteopathic Hospital, Community Hospital of Lancaster and Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center) was founded out of necessity, choice and convenience. Osteopathic physicians (who at the time were not permitted to practice at the other hospitals in the county) and their patients wanted the option for an expanded kind of medical care not available in Lancaster.

Milestones in Our History

1921

• A.T. Still Memorial Clinic opens in downtown Lancaster. It was a free clinic supported and managed by the Osteopathic Club, which had 500 members.

1927

• A charter creating the Lancaster Osteopathic Hospital Association is signed and the site for Lancaster Osteopathic Hospital (LOH) is purchased.

1929

• Ground breaking for Lancaster Osteopathic Hospital on Orange Street in downtown Lancaster. The Depression would put a halt to construction for 10 years until additional funding was available.

1942

• First patients admitted to Lancaster Osteopathic Hospital on June 29.

1986

• Lancaster Osteopathic Hospital becomes Community Hospital of Lancaster (CHL) with a new corporate structure to include a non-profit parent foundation, health services corporation, and property / real estate corporation to help enhance the services provided by the hospital.

1988

• CHL becomes “smoke-free.”

1990

• CHL offers the first laparoscopic cholecystectomy in Lancaster County.

1993

• CHL is first in the county to grant staff privileges to certified nurse midwives.

2004

• Community Hospital of Lancaster moves to its present location in Lititz, PA with the goal of meeting the expanding needs of the local community in a welcoming facility to accommodate current and future healthcare technologies and services. It is renamed Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center (HLRMC) and included an expanded emergency department, and the connected Women’s Place.

2011

• HLRMC begins offering robotic-assisted surgeries and opens the Wound Healing Center.

2013

• NICU is expanded and receives Level III designation.

2014

• HLRMC is the first hospital in Lancaster County to perform single-site robotic hysterectomy. Launches plastic surgery service line.

2017

• Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center becomes part of PinnacleHealth. PinnacleHealth becomes part of UPMC health system. Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center becomes UPMC Lititz.