Pennsylvania's infant mortality rate in 2000 was 7.1 per 1,000 live births. In 1999, there were 34,494 legal abortions performed, a rate of 14 per 1,000 women. In 2000, mortality rates for the leading causes of death—heart disease, cancer, and stroke—were well above the US averages. Death rates per 100,000 population were as follows: heart disease, 339.7; cancer, 210.4; cerebrovascular disease, 74.7; accidents, 38.2; and suicide, 11.3. The overall death rate in 2000 was 1,091.5 per 100,000 population, one of the highest among the states. Among Pennsylvania residents 18 and older, 24.3% were smokers in 2000; the rate of death from lung disease stood at 68.4 per 100,000 population in 2000. The HIV mortality rate per 100,000 population was 1.8, well below the national average of 5.3 in 2000. A total of 26,369 AIDS cases had been reported in Pennsylvania through 2001.
Pennsylvania's 205 community hospitals had 1,808,531 admissions and 42,131 beds in 2001. There were 51,312 full-time registered nurses and 6,215 full-time licensed practical nurses in 2001 and 318 physicians per 100,000 population in 2000. The average expense of a community hospital for care was $1,600.70 per inpatient day in 2001.
Federal government grants to cover the Medicare and Medicaid services in 2001 totaled $6.2 billion; 2,095,453 enrollees received Medicare benefits that year. Only 9.2% of Pennsylvania's residents were uninsured in 2002.
The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, which originated as the medical school of the College of Philadelphia in 1765, is the nation's oldest medical school. One of the nation's newest is the Hershey Medical Center of Pennsylvania State University. Other medical schools in Pennsylvania are the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Temple University's School of Medicine, the Medical College of Pennsylvania, and Allegheny University, the last three in Philadelphia. The state also aids colleges of osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine, and optometry—all in Philadelphia. Among the many medical certification boards located in Philadelphia are the boards of allergy and immunology, internal medicine, ophthalmology, and surgery.