** History **
Palmerton Hospital has not stopped growing since the day ground was broken on June 8, 1907. It took less than a year to complete the first structure - a modest eleven bed facility which was created by The New Jersey Zinc Company as a non-profit institution after a severe typhoid epidemic had ravaged the community. By 1911, it had expanded to 30 beds and by 1926 it reached its present capacity of 70 beds. For 31 years, from 1910 to 1951, the Palmerton Hospital operated a School of Nursing to meet the community's increased patient care need.
A new era dawned in 1963 when New Jersey Zinc officially presented the hospital to the community. Faced with challenges to modernize, the hospital and the community joined hands in a capital campaign which led to the construction of an entirely new patient care wing. Many renovations and modernization projects ensued throughout the next 40 years. Earlier this year, the hospital entered into a partnership with a private company to build a three-story, 39,000 square-foot assisted living facility on 18 acres along Princeton Avenue. Today, Palmerton Hospital employs approximately 360 people and its medical staff of more than 130 physicians represents more than 30 medical specialties.
