Legacy
Our History
Since its inception over a century ago, Eagleville has remained true to a mission of treating stigmatized diseases that affect all of society, consistently focusing on patients who are underserved. Throughout the years, belief in this mission has been passed from one generation of board members to the next. In 1909, Eagleville started as the Philadelphia Jewish Sanatorium for Consumptives treating indigent individuals suffering from tuberculosis. Today, Eagleville is a 305-bed, independent, non-profit addictions and behavioral health treatment and educational organization. Our rich history speaks to and demonstrates a fundamental commitment to remain resilient, adaptable, and resourceful in finding creative ways to address community health problems.
Health Services
The array of health services available at the hospital has evolved over the past century. Over the last 50 years, the evolution has focused on finding and using new and better ways to treat addiction and mental health disorders and on reaching out to special populations to provide this treatment. Highlights by the decades are:
Decade(s) | Highlights of Our Evolution |
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1909-1950’s |
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1960’s |
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1970’s |
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1980’s |
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1990’s |
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2000’s |
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2010’s |
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Outreach and Partnerships
Eagleville’s growth as a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility progressed to include a variety of community outreach programs. To become more accessible to individuals suffering from addiction, the hospital established a halfway house and a day hospital in Norristown, as well as counseling and therapy programs for prisoners at Graterford. The hospital also initiated education programs such as the Montgomery County Community Day School program, which offered an alternative to institutionalization for troubled adolescents. Eagleville was also instrumental in the creation of a performance based master’s degree program in human services offered through Lincoln University. The program accepted students on the basis of proven experience and requisite academic skills.
A couple of programs were begun with Eagleville and are independent today. In 1975, Family House was opened. It is a nationally recognized program that provides residential treatment for recovering alcoholics and drug addicted women and their children. In 1974, Eagleville worked with Montgomery County to create Montgomery County Emergency Services.
In 1969, the first Narcotic Anonymous meeting on the East Coast was held at Eagleville, and it continues to this day.
Today, we partner with Pro-Act and make use of Certified Recovery Specialists (CRS) trained by them.
Advances in Evidence-Based Practices and Technology
We make use of evidence-based practices such as Motivational Interviewing, Thinking For a Change, Interactive Journaling (a Change Companies curriculum), Trauma Informed Care, Transtheoretical Model of Change, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Furthermore, the Parenting and Life Skills classes utilize the Hazelden’s Living Skills Program.
We have been using Certified Peer Support Specialists since 2011.
In 2014, we began working with medication assisted treatment (MAT). Patients are assessed for their appropriateness and interest in MAT during the admitting process and throughout their stay. Patients who are enrolled in an MAT program at the time of admission can continue their maintenance here while they are being treated for other substance use.
In the early-2000’s, we installed an electronic medical record computer system. We were one of the first behavioral health providers in the state of Pennsylvania to use such technology. That system was replaced in 2013 with a more sophisticated electronic medical record computer system, which has tremendous functionality for our staff while treating our patients and with the patient’s consent can also provide for electronically exchanging patient clinical data between the patient’s various healthcare providers. We met “meaningful use” criteria as defined by the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services with the new system.