OUR CAUSE
Our cause is always the mission of the VIA: “to enhance the health and welfare of Central Bucks County and the surrounding communities.” We accomplish this through Doylestown Hospital (the hospital we founded in 1923 and still govern), the Doylestown Health System, and through our welfare, community recognition, veterans, scholarships, and other community support activities. To fund our work, the VIA held its first Bucks County Designer House & Gardens fundraiser in 1971. With community support and member dedication, this event is now the VIA’s largest annual fundraiser. It has allowed us to raise millions to benefit Doylestown Hospital, the Doylestown Health system, and our community activities.
The Village Improvement Association Of Doylestown
Since its founding in 1895, the VIA has been committed to enhancing the health and welfare of the community it serves. The VIA supports those in need, awards educational scholarships, provides community improvement grants, and much more. The VIA started a visiting nurse program for Doylestown and then founded Doylestown Hospital in 1923. For many years, the members did almost all of the non-medical work, including yelling up the stairs of the original 8-bed hospital to see if pork chops would be OK for dinner! The VIA still governs Doylestown Hospital and Doylestown Health as part of Doylestown Hospital and Doylestown Health Foundations: the chairman of the Boards is always an experienced, knowledgeable VIA member. But we are much more than that. Our mission-focused committees include Welfare, Women’s Scholarships, (adult scholarships), Education (high school scholarships), HOBY, Veterans, Community Response and Recognition, and Welfare. Click the link, below, to learn more about this active group of women.
Doylestown Health
The VIA recognized the need for public health initiatives and community healthcare services and began with employment of a Visiting Nurse in 1916. The VIA, together with local medical professionals and the Doylestown community, opened the Doylestown Emergency Hospital, an eight-bed facility, at Pine and Oakland Streets in 1923. VIA members mopped floors, cleaned rooms, made beds, and cooked meals. In 1975 the hospital moved to its present location on West State Street, where it continues to grow to meet our communities’ many growing needs.
Under the continued governance and stewardship of the VIA and throughout its nearly 100-year history, Doylestown Hospital has maintained its patient-first philosophy. Their many local, state, and national awards show they are doing exactly the right things. Doylestown Hospital and the Doylestown Health System continue to be pioneers in innovation, advancing the delivery of quality healthcare.
Learn more about Doylestown Health’s services, classes, doctors, and events at http://doylestownhealth.org/.
Learn more about the Doylestown Health Foundation at https://doylestownhealthfoundation.org/.
Past Houses
We started presenting the Bucks County Designer House & Gardens in 1971. We skipped a few years in the beginning, when we were still learning, but since 1978 we have run a Designer House every year, with only one year lost to the COVID pandemic. And it’s all run by volunteers! Here are some examples of our past houses.
Want more? Clike HERE to see our guidebooks from recent years.