History
The history of the VA Butler Healthcare System started long before VA got involved.
VA Butler Healthcare System
The history of the VA Butler Healthcare System started long before VA got involved. In 1937, the Pennsylvania Department of Health chose Butler as the site for a 500-bed sanitarium to treat people with tuberculosis. Construction of the Western Pennsylvania Tuberculosis Sanatorium started in May 1938, but the opening was delayed due to budget issues.
In October 1942, the Army Medical Department leased the property and used it as a soldiers hospital during World War II. The Army renamed it Deshon General Hospital in honor of Col. George Durfee Deshon, a West Point graduate and Army surgeon who helped to create legislation that reorganized the Army Medical Department in 1908.
The Deshon General Hospital received its first patient on December 7, 1942—exactly 1 year after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The Army used Deshon as a general medical and surgical hospital. The hospital also had a specialty center for soldiers with hearing impairments—1 of only 3 Army hearing centers in the United States during World War II. Over the next 4 years, the Army added more than 70 buildings to the hospital. After World War II ended, the Army closed the hospital.
In 1946, VA took over the operation and purchased the facility 2 years later. Over the next few decades, VA expanded services at the medical center, adding a nursing home care unit in 1965, dental services in 1967, and a prosthesis program during the Vietnam War. After ending surgical services in 1969, the hospital started to focus on Veteran rehabilitation, including physical and recreational therapies and vocational programs.
In September 2017, VA closed the original building used for outpatient services and opened the new Abie Abraham Health Care Center (HCC) 1 mile away. It was named after Abie Abraham, a local World War II Veteran who survived the Bataan Death March and volunteered at VA Butler for more than 20 years. Abraham published 2 books about his experiences as a prisoner of war. The books were translated into several languages and sold millions of copies. Abraham received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and many other medals and ribbons. In 1995, Abraham was named Butler County Veteran of the Year. Abie Abraham died in 2012 at the age of 98. He’s buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Today, the Abie Abraham Health Care Center and the other VA Butler clinics offer services to more than 25,000 Veterans living in a 5-county area in Pennsylvania and Ohio.