In 1963, the M. S. Hershey Foundation offered $50 million to the Pennsylvania State University to establish a medical school and teaching hospital in Hershey, Pennsylvania. With this grant and $21.3 million from the U.S. Public Health Service, the university built a medical school, teaching hospital, and research center. Ground was broken in 1966 and Penn State's College of Medicine opened its doors to the first class of students in 1967. Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center accepted its first patients in 1970. The original buildings at the center included the Medical Science Building and medical center, Animal Research Farm, Laundry and Steam Plant, and University Manor Apartments. Since 1970, the campus has grown from 318 to. Many additions have been made to the academic and patient-care facilities. The center also serves nursing students from Penn State College of Nursing B.S. degree program and students from other Penn State health-related programs. The extended B.S. degree program for nurses is offered in conjunction with the College of Health and Human Development. Continuing education programs serve health-care professionals throughout Pennsylvania, with enrollments exceeding 51,000 each year. The center conducts basic and clinical research, supported by more than $100 million in awards from federal, state, and private agencies, businesses, and individuals. By the end of June 2010, the center admitted nearly 27,000 patients and provided care through over 854,000 outpatient and 57,000 emergency-service visits. Penn State Hershey Medical Center has over 8,800 employees, 400 volunteers, and the College of Medicine enrolls more than 800 students annually.
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, known simply as Penn State College of Medicine is the medical school of Penn State. While the main Penn State campus is in State College PA, this school is located in Hershey Pennsylvania in order to align with Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, the medical school’s principal affiliate. The medical school includes 26 basic science and clinical departments and a broad range of clinical programs conducted at its hospital affiliates and numerous ambulatory care sites in the region.
Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
The Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is a 548-bed non-profit, research and academic medical center located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, providing tertiary and healthcare needs for the Central Pennsylvania and the capitol region. MSHMC the region's only academic university-level teaching center. The hospital is owned by the Pennsylvania State University Health System and the second largest hospital in the system. MSHMC is affiliated with the Penn State College of Medicine. MSHMC is also a designated level I trauma center and has a helipad to handle medevac patients.
Penn State Children's Hospital
Penn State Children's Hospital at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center houses 128 beds in a five-story building opened in 2013. It maintains the region's only Level IV, state-of-the-art neonatal intensive care unit and Level I pediatric trauma center. It is staffed by 200 pediatric medical and surgical specialists.
