Conemaugh Health System

The first hospital in the health system, Conemaugh Valley Memorial Hospital, opened its doors December 2, 1889 six months following the catastrophe of the Great Johnstown Flood of 1889. 2,209 people were killed in the flood, and much of the town's infrastructure was demolished or unusable for months following the disaster. Temporary medical quarters were established at St. Mark's Episcopal church while more permanent accommodations for the survivors could be created. The American Red Cross responded a few days after the flood by establishing a temporary hospital in the city's 8th ward in a wooden farmhouse in the midst of a local orchard. In 1892, a permanent stone structure was completed for the new hospital, and the Red Cross withdrew its field hospital from the region.

In 1896 a training school for nurses was opened at the hospital, assisting with the medical and surgical care that was being offered at the hospital proper. It remains in operation as the Conemaugh School of Nursing. The physical facility of Conemaugh hospital continued to expand in the coming years with the construction of its modern facility on Franklin Street in 1923.

In more recent years the hospital has noted that it is shifting away from inpatient care to smaller regional outpatient facilities in the region.

Conemaugh Health System (CHS) is the parent corporation for the following healthcare entities:

Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center – located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania this campus services as the primary medical campus of the health system. It consists of two inpatient medical centers that were merged in 1997: Good Samaritan Medical Center (previously known as Mercy Hospital), a Catholic hospital, founded in 1910, and Conemaugh Valley Medical Center founded in 1889 following the disaster of the Johnstown Flood. It currently sustains 537 inpatient beds.

Conemaugh Meyersdale Medical Center – located in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania it was founded in 1952 to attend to the rural medical needs of Somerset County.

Conemaugh Miners Medical Center – located in Hastings, Pennsylvania, it was originally designed to serve the local coal mining community. True to its original purpose, the hospital itself still offers Black Lung screenings.

In 2013 it was formally announced the Conemaugh was seeking affiliation with other medical systems in the region because of financial constraint. On September 3, 2014, Conemaugh Health System was acquired for $500 million by Duke LifePoint Healthcare, a joint venture between Duke University Health System and LifePoint Hospitals. Since its corporate acquisition the hospital continues to expand its pool of physicians and specialists, as well as expand its primary medical campus in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. In 2021, the main campus was expanded to make way for additional inpatient/outpatient cardiovascular services as well as specialized imaging services.