Our Legacy

Camden grew rapidly after the Civil War, with a large influx of immigrants fueling the city’s businesses and factories. What the city lacked was a hospital, especially for women and the poor who could not otherwise afford medical care. Dr. E.M. Howard and a group of “charitably inclined ladies” organized local homeopathic physicians, and on March 2, 1885, the first hospital in the City of Camden opened as The Camden Hospital and Dispensary Association on the northeast corner of Fourth and Arch streets. 

During the first two years of operation, the hospital treated more than 3,000 people and performed 128 surgeries. In 1888, the hospital moved to West and Stevens streets and reorganized as the West Jersey Homeopathic Dispensary and Hospital Association.

The growth of the West Jersey Homeopathic Dispensary and Hospital Association in Camden necessitated additional expansion. For $25,000, a six-acre tract on the city's highest elevation, known as the Kaighn Farm, was purchased at Atlantic and Mount Ephraim avenues.

A 1910 fundraiser netted $100,000 for the construction of the new building. The cornerstone was laid in 1912, and after another successful $100,000 fundraising campaign, the new hospital opened in 1914. An existing mansion on the property was repurposed as a nurses’ residence. In 1915, the institution was renamed the West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital and grew to 144 beds. By the 1930s, additional buildings dedicated to maternity and children’s services were constructed, increasing capacity to 267 beds.

In the 1950s, West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital became West Jersey Hospital and joined forces with Our Lady of Lourdes and Cooper hospitals to improve health care in Camden. The Camden Hospital Improvement and Enlargement Fund (CHIEF) funds allowed for expanded bed capacity and the creation of a nursing school at Lourdes.

West Jersey Hospital capped a decade of growth to meet the population explosion following the end of World War II. Fortified by the fund, a new three-story administration and patient wing and a two-story service wing were opened. Additions in the 1950s included new nurses’ facilities, a new maternity section, and an accident ward, as well as many extended services.

Opened in 1964 and largely staffed by local family physicians, Edgewood General Hospital in Berlin was a hub of medical care for residents of lower Camden County. In 1966, West Jersey acquired the 109-bed facility, renamed it West Jersey Hospital — Southern Division, and grew the medical staff. With the purchase, the West Jersey Hospital System became the first multi-hospital system in New Jersey.

Seeking to meet the needs of the community, Lourdes began performing cardiac catheterizations in May 1972 and heart bypass surgeries shortly thereafter. Led by nationally known surgeon Dr. John Templeton, the heart program earned a reputation for excellence, with doctors from across South Jersey referring their patients to Lourdes rather than Philadelphia hospitals.

Over time, Lourdes became one of the largest providers of cardiovascular services in the Delaware Valley and was honored for excellence in care, performing some of the most advanced heart procedures, including transcatheter aortic valve replacement, left ventricular assist device implantation, and heart rhythm ablation.

In 1974, Lourdes established the Osborn Family Health Center to combat the high infant mortality rate in Camden. The center quickly outgrew its first home in a brownstone donated by Dr. Edward Osborn, the hospital’s first chief of surgery, and moved into a renovated Studebaker show room then located across the street from the medical center. Now located in the Sister Elizabeth Corry Ambulatory Care Center, which replaced the car dealership on the site, Osborn is a federally qualified health center.

In 1977, West Jersey Hospital System became the home base of one of New Jersey’s eight pilot mobile intensive care units. The West Jersey Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU) soon became the most active MICU in the southern half of the state. The following year, Burlington County Memorial Hospital established a MICU, expanding access to this much-needed service.

The 204-bed Garden State Community Hospital in Marlton joined West Jersey Health System in 1982. With a newly increased capacity of 833 beds, 800 physicians, and 3,200 employees, West Jersey was the state’s largest nonprofit health system. The system continues to innovate, with the state’s first outpatient surgery center in Marlton and the Tatem-Brown Family Practice Center.

Virtua Health was formed in 1998 through a merger between Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly and its related entities and West Jersey Health System. It became the largest health care provider in South Jersey. Richard P. Miller led the new organization for nearly 20 years.

In 1999, Virtua transformed its longtime hospital at Atlantic and Mount Ephraim avenues into a comprehensive outpatient health center to serve the needs of Camden residents. The campus includes an emergency department, primary care practices, and expanded specialty care, including dentistry and podiatry—services that are in great demand by the city’s residents. Also on campus is Children Achieving Success Through Therapeutic Life Experiences (CASTLE), a behavioral health program for youth.

Incorporated in 2009, Virtua Medical Group employs more than 1,700 primary and specialty care clinicians located in 400-plus practice locations across the region. From cardiology to gynecologic surgery, organ transplant to urgent care, our clinicians work together to provide expert care when and where you need it.

On May 22, 2011, the new Virtua Voorhees Hospital opened, with patients moving from the former hospital on Evesham Road to the new one on Route 73. The 368-bed, $463 million hospital is three times larger than the former facility and is hailed for its state-of-the-art services, amenities, and environment.

Lourdes Health System opened LourdesCare at Cherry Hill (now Virtua Health & Wellness Center — Cherry Hill) in 2013, its first ambulatory care facility. Located at Route 70 and Brace Road, it became a major hub of Lourdes Cardiology and physician practices, as well as outpatient laboratory, radiology, cardiac rehab, cardiac testing, physical therapy, and wellness services.

In 2015, Virtua Berlin transitioned from an acute-care hospital to the Virtua Health & Wellness Center — Berlin. This outpatient campus provides a satellite emergency department, behavioral health and radiology services, a specialty pharmacy, and clinical training facilities, including a simulated operating room.