History Statistics

A History of Guthrie: Railroad Hospital to State-of-the-Art Medical Center

Guthrie’s beginnings can be traced to the arrival of the railroad in the Bradford County region in the mid-1800’s

Sayre, named for the Lehigh Valley Railroad’s chief engineer of construction – Robert Sayre of Bethlehem, PA – was founded in 1870. Robert Packer, for whom the hospital is named, was the director of the railroad from 1879 until his death in 1883. He left behind a large mansion that his sister inherited.

Robert Packer

By 1885, over 1,500 men were employed in the 70-acre Sayre rail shop, the third largest in the country at the time. A railroad dispensary served as the only health care for workers, and injured men were often transported there in wheelbarrows. The need for a hospital was apparent. Townspeople approached Packer’s sister about donating the mansion for use as a railroad workers’ hospital. She agreed, and in 1885, Robert Packer Hospital was granted a charter. It opened on July 7, 1885, and its first patient, railroad worker Alonzo House, was treated for a case of bronchitis on July 27.

The Packer Mansion

Night nurses

Night nurses, 1917

The Robert Packer Hospital School of Nursing was founded in 1901, and graduated 2,514 nurses before closing in 1989. Guthrie continues nursing education on the Sayre campus through Mansfield University. The four-story nurses' residence was completed in 1927.

Dr. Donald Guthrie came to Sayre in 1910 from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, to become surgeon-in-chief and administrator of Robert Packer Hospital. Later the same year, Dr. Guthrie founded Guthrie Clinic, which was intended to be a multi-specialty group practice like that of the Mayo brothers in Minnesota, under whom Dr. Guthrie trained. Today Guthrie Clinic is one of the oldest multi-specialty group practices in the country.

Dr. Donald Guthrie

Guthrie Clinic

The first Clinic building was completed in 1928. It was built under the auspices of Robert Packer Hospital to provide offices for the growing medical staff.

The Hewitt Pavilion, a major portion of the hospital’s in-patient care area, burned to the ground on May 3, 1933 along with the women’s solarium and the men’s surgical and orthopedic wards. All patients were successfully evacuated, and rebuilding began immediately.

The day after the fire

The day after the fire.

Groundbreaking for Troy Community Hospital

Groundbreaking for Troy Community Hospital began in 1950. Troy Community Hospital became part of the Guthrie system in 1985, followed by Sayre House in 1988 and Tioga Senior Care Community in 1996.

Dr. Donald Guthrie, founder of Guthrie Clinic, died on October 30, 1958. He had led the hospital and Clinic for nearly 50 years, and his death left a void in both institutions.

Guthrie’s first open-heart surgery was performed in 1959 by Dr. Harold Liddle, and Guthrie’s heart program was established in 1966 with the arrival of Dr. William Sewell, who pioneered the operation for improving coronary artery circulation through vein graft transplantation. Guthrie physicians now perform over 350 heart operations each year, including coronary artery bypass grafts and valve replacement.

Guthrie’s first open-heart surgery

Robert Packer’s mansion, which was built in 1877 and comprised the original portion of the hospital, was demolished in 1961 to make way for the x-ray and outpatient surgery wing. The Clinic and hospital became separate fiscal entities with separate administrators in 1962.

Dr. John Thomas

In 1972, Dr. John Thomas became president of Guthrie Clinic. His vision of expanding the Clinic, including the Clinic regional offices and the construction of the current Clinic building, resulted in the Guthrie network as we know it today.

In 1975, the Pastoral Care Program was established and the Century One and Two building projects began. These projects are largely responsible for the creation of Guthrie’s Sayre campus as we see it today. Some of the buildings and wings added during this decade-long project include the main hospital building, the operating suite, the cafeteria, the x-ray wing, the Emergency Department, ICU and the Behavioral Science Center

1999-2000 Pastoral Care Interns

Guthrie Clinic

In 1976, Guthrie Clinic opened its new physician office building, a five-story structure adjacent to Robert Packer Hospital that includes the purple, orange, green and yellow sections. A year later, the Clinic opened its first regional office in Troy, designed to provide primary care to a small community with direct access to specialists in Sayre. Today, Guthrie Clinic has 23 regional offices in New York and Pennsylvania.

The Guthrie Research Institute was formed in 1980 with funds from the estate of Mrs. Donald Guthrie. The Research Institute is focused on learning more about how cells interact with each other at the molecular level and how these interactions change when diseases such as cancer are present. The Research Institute also has an international presence in the area of latex allergies.

The Guthrie Research Institute

Troy Community Hospital

Troy Community Hospital and Bradford County Citizen’s Health Foundation (later renamed Guthrie Home Care) joined Guthrie in 1985.

Troy Community Hospital’s innovative Ventilator Management program began in 1989, the same year that Guthrie Clinic completed a second five-story building (red and blue sections).

Guthrie Healthcare System

Guthrie Healthcare System was formed in 1990, joining a variety of care options and facilities under one umbrella. Guthrie Clinic’s Corning Centerway office opened in 1990, employing 50 physicians who provide primary and specialty care to complement the services of Corning Hospital.

Guthrie Hospice began serving patients in 1991. Two years later, the Family Medicine Residency Program began at Robert Packer Hospital and Guthrie Clinic.

The Paul Gerry Dialysis Center opened at Robert Packer Hospital in 1997. In 1998, Robert Packer Hospital opened a state-of- the-art subacute unit.

The Sub-Acute Staff

Dr. Lynn Smaha, MD, Ph.D.

Dr. Lynn Smaha, Guthrie cardiologist and vice president of corporate affairs for Guthrie Clinic, was named president of the American Heart Association in 1999. This same year, Corning Hospital affiliated with Guthrie, expanding Guthrie’s care network in New York.

Guthrie has come along way since the first horse-drawn ambulance rolled up to Robert Packer’s Victorian mansion. Guthrie is now a state-of-the-art health system that includes three hospitals, Guthrie Clinic, 23 regional offices, four nursing homes and numerous other services available to a 40-county region of Pennsylvania and New York. Guthrie and its employees take pride in serving the community with the most sophisticated procedures and equipment, and in delivering this care with a helping hand and a friendly smile.

RPH's horse-drawn ambulance