Hospital History

Since our beginnings in 1884, Portsmouth Hospital has delivered quality care to the Seacoast community. Today, Portsmouth Regional Hospital ranks among the top hospitals nationwide.

1884: Citizens of Portsmouth founded Cottage Hospital, a 10 bed acute care facility on Court Street. (Today, this building is known as The Aldrich House.)

1885: A new hospital was built on Junkins Avenue near Mill Pond. For over 100 years, Portsmouth Hospital continued to expand and diversify to meet the community's healthcare needs.

photo of old portsmouth hospital

Portsmouth Hospital, 1885-1987

For further information about the early history of Portsmouth Hospital, we encourage you to visit some fascinating books in the Portsmouth Public Library:

The Changing Humors of Portsmouth, The Medical Biography of an American Town, 1623-1983 by J. Worth Estes and David M. Goodman, copyright 1986.

Historic Portsmouth, by James L. Garvin, copyright 1974.

A Historical Calendar of Portsmouth,by Frances Mathes, copyright 1907.

1985:After an extensive long-range planning process, the Trustees of Portsmouth Hospital determined that the community's health was best served by the hospital becoming part of a sophisticated, national healthcare system. The Hospital was sold to HCA (Hospital Corporation of America) and the proceeds of that sale became the assets of a new private foundation, The Foundation for Seacoast Health. In addition to making grants to health-related initiatives, The Foundation continues its community oversight of Portsmouth Regional Hospital, appointing eight of the nine Hospital Trustees.

1987:Portsmouth Regional Hospital and Pavilion, a new state-of-the-art facility on Borthwick Avenue, opened. The Pavilion is the Seacoast's first and only in-patient behavioral health facility.

1987 - 1997: This was a period of great expansion in our medical resources. Over 100 new physicians joined our medical staff, adding many new specialties.

1987: In its inaugural year, Portsmouth Regional Hospital:

  • Opened the Seacoast's first cardiac catheterization lab
  • Brought mobile MRI services to the Seacoast
  • Introduced Neurosurgery, Lithotripsy, Pain Management,
    and Occupational Health
    specialties
  • Performed the Seacoast's first limb reattachment

1988: Portsmouth Regional Hospital was named Business of the Year by the Greater Seacoast Chamber of Commerce.

1989: Became the leader in Seacoast deliveries in 1989 and has maintained this lead.

  • Began laparoscopic surgery -- one of the first hospitals in the state
  • Participated in a national study demonstrating that emergency angioplasty could be done in community hospitals with better patient outcomes

photo of old portsmouth hospital groundbreaking

Portsmouth Regional Hospital Groundbreaking, 1987

1990: Introduced several new medical specialties:

  • Rehabilitation Medicine (Physiatry)
  • Infectious Disease-- a Seacoast first

1992: Introduced Nephrology.

1993: Chosen as site to train foreign surgeons in total knee replacement.

1995: Opened the Sleep Center, a diagnostic and treatment center for sleep disorders.

1995: The Chest Pain Center opened, significantly improving outcomes for heart attack patients by shortening the time between diagnosis and treatment.

1997: Launched vital new patient resources:

  • Diabetes Resource Center
  • Inpatient dialysis

1998: Cancer Care Services opened a new medical oncology unit.

1999: The Heart & Lung Center at Portsmouth Regional Hospital launched the Cardiac Surgery Program, a collaborative effort of cardiologists from five Seacoast hospitals. The program featured a new, state-of-the-art surgical facility and a world-class cardiac surgery team.

2000: Participated in Top Off, the Federal bioterrorism exercise. Portsmouth Regional South building in Hampton opened.

2002: Continuing growth in quality and services:

  • The Emergency Center completed a major expansion from 8 to 22 rooms
  • The Ambulatory Surgery Center opened, providing cost-effective, streamlined day surgery
  • Heart & Lung Center performed its 1500th cardiac surgery case
  • Our Neurosurgery service acquired a state-of-the-art image-guided surgery system -- the first in NH
  • A joint radiation therapy program with Wentworth Douglass Hospital was proposed

2003: The former Pavilion building was renovated as the Shoals Building, and dedicated to three community leaders whose efforts brought a state-of-the-art hospital to the Seacoast in 1987: Terry Morton, Warren Wilder and Ferris Bavicchi. The Shoals Building is home to:

  • Greatly expanded Heart & Lung Center, featuring:
    • Two new cardiac catheterization labs
    • A new cardiac diagnostic area
    • Additional cardiac observation beds
  • Improved facilities for Behavioral Health
  • The Sleep Center

photo of cath lab

2004:

  • PRH nurses ranked in Top 1% of all HCA hospitals
  • Nationally recognized by the Institute for Safe Medication Practice for reducing medical errors.
  • First in the Seacoast and one of the first in the nation to institute an electronic medication bar-coding system (EMAR)
  • Surgical weight loss program introduced
  • PET imaging and minimally invasive varicose vein treatment introduced

2005:

  • Wound Care Center & Hyperbaric Services ranked among top in the nation
  • Second digital mammography unit added
  • PDT (photodynamic therapy) introduced

2006:

  • PRH ranked #1 in Patient Satisfaction among all HCA hospitals
  • Heart & Lung Center named a Cardiac Center of Excellence
  • Dr. Sisto named 2005 HCA Cardiac Surgeon of the Year
  • 64-slice CT scan introduced

2007:

  • Electrophysiology specialty introduced
  • $63 Million Facility expansion launched
  • Bariatric Surgery Program received advanced accreditations