LHAS charter
The Jewish Encyclopedia
of Western Pennsylvania
A project of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center
The Hebrew Ladies Hospital Aid Society was established in 1898 to develop a hospital in Pittsburgh where Jewish patients could receive culturally competent medical care and Jewish physicians could practice without discrimination. Encouraged by several local Jewish doctors, Annie Jacobs Davis convened a small group a women to discuss the idea, leading to the formation of the society. The Hebrew Ladies Hospital Aid Society was chartered on May 29, 1899 with the following members: Annie Jacobs Davis, Lillian Davis, Anna Rosenthal, Fannie Goodstone, Annie Wolk, Rachel Wolk, and Amelia Edlis.
The Hebrew Ladies Hospital Aid Society provided care to patients at existing city hospitals while pursuing an independent hospital. It also underwrote a public health nurse at the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House. It purchased the Lacyville property on Reed Street between Miller and Roberts in the Hill District. As the former site of Passavant Hospital, the property was exempt from current restrictions on hospital construction.
With costs rising as Jewish immigration to Pittsburgh increased, husbands of several Hebrew Ladies Hospital Aid Society leaders were asked to start the Montefiore Hospital Association in 1905. The first Montefiore Hospital opened in the Hill District in 1908. The Ladies Hospital Aid Society shifted into an auxiliary role, providing crucial fundraising and volunteer services for Montefiore Hospital. It also worked with various auxiliaries, including the Young Ladies Sick and Relief Society and the Montefiore Aid Society. Among its accomplishments, the Ladies Hospital Aid Society raised more than $5 million for Montefiore Hospital, funding its Follow-Me-Home program and the LHAS Ambulatory Surgical Center. With the sale of Montefiore Hospital to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center system, the Ladies Hospital Aid Society expanded its mission beyond one institution. It implemented the LHAS Arbor at Weinberg Village, the LHAS Prevention and Early Detection Center at the Hillman Cancer Center, and the LHAS Women’s Heart Center while allocating more than $350,000 annually in grants.
Presidents of the Ladies Hospital Aid Society include Annie Jacobs Davis (1898-1918), Leah Finkelpearl (1918-1930), Sarah Cohen (1930-1931), Stella Jackson (1931-1934), Lilian Freund (1934-1937), Ann Lesher (1937-1942), Doe Shapera (1942-1946), Helen Sheinberg (1946-1948), Rose Schoolnic (1948-1951), Bea Conn (1951-1955), Bertie Goldenberg (1955-1957), Marcella Finegold (1957-1959), Gertrude Caplan (1959-1961), Rosella Broff (1961-1964), Ethel Feldman (1964-1966), Lois Michaels (1966-1968), Jeanne Hamburg (1968-1970), Nancy Simon (1970-1972), Frances Mendelow (1972-1974), Adele Raizman (1974-1976), Eileen Finestone (1976-1978), Janice Friedman (1978-1980), Ellen Selker (1980-1982), Susan Wolf (1982-1984), Marolee Pollock (1984-1986), Janet Moritz (1986-1988), Ellen Cohn (1988-1990;1996-1997), Essie Shore (1990-1992), Hannah Kamin (1992-1994), Ilene Israel (1994-1996), Kathy Arnheim (1997), Anna Kann (1997-1999), Mary Novick (1999-2001), Marcia Weiss (2001-2003), Barbara Adelson (2003), June Yonas (2003-2008), Laura Kronk (2008-2013), and Carol Kamin (2019-2024).
