Penn Medicine

Mission and History

At Penn Medicine, we are dedicated to discoveries that advance science, to outstanding patient care throughout the world, and to the education of physicians and scientists who carry on our legacy of excellence.

We are a world-renowned academic medical center, and strive to improve the health and well-being of people through research, education, clinical care and community service. We are proud of our commitment to service and strive to use discovery and rigorous research to benefit our neighborhoods, our city and our world. We embrace the opportunity to teach others, to learn from our partners, and to care for patients with skill and dignity.

Core Values

Penn Medicine’s core values define what we stand for as an organization and how we will continue the work of helping others that began here more than 240 years ago.

History of Penn Medicine

A leader in medicine for more than 240 years Penn Medicine has a lot of firsts.

Pennsylvania Hospital, part of Penn Medicine, is the nation’s first hospital, and was founded in 1751. The University of Pennsylvania opened its School of Medicine, the nation’s first, in 1765. And, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania was established in 1874 as the nation’s first teaching hospital.

Over the past 30 years, Penn physicians and scientists have participated in many important discoveries, including:

* The first general vaccine against pneumonia

* The introduction of total intravenous feeding

* The development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other imaging technologies

* The discovery of the Philadelphia chromosome, which revolutionized cancer research by making the connection between genetic abnormalities and cancer

* Since our founding days, we’ve expanded medical frontiers by creating some of the nation’s earliest programs in areas ranging from dermatology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology and radiology, to the Philadelphia region’s only program to transplantation of five major organs.

Our clinicians and researchers continue to make medical advances that help people live longer, healthier lives. We are committed to care for patients with respect and compassion while forging the medical discoveries that will lead our teams through the 21st century.