Planning for a Monroeville hospital began in the 1960s, when two rival groups competed for the rights to build a new medical facility in eastern Allegheny County. East Suburban General Hospital group, aligned with West Penn Hospital, wanted to build along Mosside Boulevard. Forbes Health System wanted to build on a site next to the Parkway East. In 1973, those competing groups joined forces. Construction began in 1975. The merged group decided to keep the Forbes name, because all of the hospitals in the existing Forbes Health System – Pittsburgh Hospital, Columbia Hospital and the new Monroeville hospital – were along the old Forbes Road, a historic military path built in the 1700s from Carlisle to Pittsburgh.