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UPMC commits to invest $90 million over first five years at UPMC Western Maryland

February 13th, 2020 by WCBC Radio

UPMC corporate executives joined UPMC Western Maryland executives, staff, elected officials and local community leaders Thursday afternoon to celebrate the integration that officially took place earlier this month.

    In front of hundreds who attended the celebration, Leslie Davis, UPMC Senior Vice President and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of UPMC Health Services, announced a $90 million investment to enhance services and facilities at UPMC Western Maryland.

    “You have a proud history here of caring for your community and putting patients first, and we are so happy that you chose UPMC to carry on that service excellence and together bring a new level of innovation and advanced care to this region,” she said.

     “Having worked closely with your executive and clinical leaders during our clinical affiliation, we know how strongly dedicated you are to your hospital, your patients, your employees, and your community, and we are very proud of that and excited to celebrate with you today.

    “UPMC is known for reinvention and innovation so that we can best serve our patients and health plan members, communities, and employees. Our shared passion for excellence will drive the UPMC Experience for all. Western Maryland is an organization and community that embodies the values of UPMC, and I am thrilled to be here today to welcome you into our UPMC family.”

    UPMC Western Maryland President Barry Ronan called the integration historic.

    “Back in 2016, the Western Maryland Health System Board of Directors requested proposals to affiliate with a larger health system that would help preserve health care in the western Maryland region for years to come.

    “As we explored all our options and did our research, it became clear that UPMC was the perfect fit for us. I could not be more excited and proud of our board and our hospital leaders for having the clear vision, steadfast commitment and dedication to take care of our community and region for generations to come.

    “As the evidence of the $90 million investment begins to take shape, we will continue to evaluate the best ways to meet the needs of our patients and community. We’ve been talking for a long time now about how this integration would strengthen our abilities and opportunities to provide world-class care right here in Cumberland. Now, we can actually begin doing that.”

    UPMC Western Maryland Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Nancy Adams spoke on what the integration will mean for clinical specialties.

    “This integration will provide so much for our community. Not only does this mean an increase of clinical specialties we will be able to offer here in western Maryland, it also expands our already robust oncology expertise through our connection to the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center – and our ability to serve our behavioral health patients, just to name a few examples,” she said.

    Dr. John Pappas, who serves as the President of the UMPC Western Maryland medical staff – and serves on the Board of Directors, spoke about the access to UPMC’s vast innovative resources and clinical and scientific expertise.

    “On behalf of our medical staff, I can tell you that every single one of us is deeply dedicated to providing the very best care for our patients,” he said. “Providing cutting-edge care in a rural hospital setting has become quite challenging in today’s health care environment. We are excited to grow mutually beneficial relationships with UPMC and be part of UPMC’s innovative programs and integrated network of services.

     “We all will work together to expand both primary care and specialty care access. This is a very exciting time for everyone involved in this new relationship, and our patients and their families will enjoy the benefits for years to come.”

     The integration marks the completion of a process that began with initial conversations as far back as 2015. In 2018, WMHS and UPMC joined together in a clinical affiliation to work cooperatively to enhance health care services and to strengthen the delivery of quality care, transform care delivery and reduce the total cost of providing care in the community.

     In March 2019, the Boards of Directors of both WMHS and UPMC signed a non-binding letter of intent to negotiate an affiliation agreement. Following a nine-month regulatory review and due diligence process by WMHS and UPMC, the Boards co-signed a binding integration and affiliation agreement on January 15, 2020, setting February 1, as the target date for finalizing the affiliation.

     The initial five-year $90 million dollar investment by UPMC, along with investments that the WMHS Foundation has made and continues to make, will help ensure that UPMC Western Maryland will continue to provide state-of-the-art, quality health care for residents as well as maintaining its position as one of the largest employers in the region for years to come.

 

4 Responses to “UPMC commits to invest $90 million over first five years at UPMC Western Maryland”

  1. February 14, 2020 at 3:42 am, Mark said:

    Hospitals across the nation keep consolidating and eliminating any competition. This enables them to charge even more extortionate fees on the public. This is why we need Medicare For ALL.

    Reply

    • February 14, 2020 at 7:55 am, mac said:

      > Yes, this consolidation will “streamline services” and make the running of the hospital more “cost effective” which sounds wonderful until you find out that they can move payroll, billing and coding to their data center. There will be more jobs lost locally.
      I wonder how long it will be until the more specialized testing and procedures will be referrals to other UPMC hospitals and clinics.
      After all, you’re only 2 hours away from the Pittsburgh. You can bear the pain that long, can’t you? Wouldn’t you rather be seen by Dr. McCoy at Starfleet Hospital instead of old Doc Adams from Gunsmoke?

      Reply

      • February 14, 2020 at 11:06 am, Lav said:

        > Seems most folks I talk to (including myself) tend to head to WVU Medicine in Morgantown, Johns Hopkins, or Winchester for specific treatments. I’m hopeful that this new WMHS changeover to UPMC will mean more “qualified and educated” doctors so that we don’t have to travel – which btw is a hassle in itself, i.e. traffic, time off work, etc. But time will tell.

        Reply

  2. February 16, 2020 at 8:44 pm, Terri Lynn Martin said:

    MEDICARE 4 ALL!?!
    Omg…Please turn off CNN/msnbc & stop reading Libtard rags… Try reading something Educational on Socialism, History, Economics & State Run Health Care~esp if ya already think our health care system is BAD!
    For 1~ Med4ALL IS NOT FREE! We’ll ALL PAY MORE IN TAXES & there will be 100000s of Jobs LOST! There’ll still be 2 tiers of health care ~ 1 run by Gov, telling you what you can get, where, how much, when, etc ~ usually, regardless of YOUR needs & YOU’LL WAIT & Wait & Wait… that’ll be bcuz these Gov run systems won’t have enough of anything, including personnel, to treat patients…Think of the VA & multiply by 1000=How much worse it’ll be!
    Tier 2= Private Funded Health care systems that ONLY the Rich can afford
    ~of course, there’s also the absolute loss of research $$ & new technology developed bcuz in a Gov Run system there is NO incentive to do such things & no money to do it with!

    I’m sorry…forgive me Cuz I DO try to respect everyone’s RIGHT to opinions, even if they differ from mine. HOWEVER, the idiotolgy of advocating & wishing for Medicare 4 ALL is not only Ignorant & ill informed, IT’S DANGEROUS TO ALL & WOULD UTTERLY DESTROY OUR COUNTRY, 1ST…& as we collapse, the world will quickly follow~except for Communists & Islam!
    Perhaps I could’ve made my point easier if I’d just said ‘Nothing is Ever Free!’ but I doubt it because the INDOCTRINATION runs deep in the liberal minds & it’s NEVER easy to get them to look further than the Lies & Propaganda so readily worshipped by the Lemmings!
    ANY 1 Advocating & Supporting Socialism ~ which historically leads to Communism after it fails & chaos ensues, so the Powers that Be take Military-Tyrannical Dictatorship control over the unruly rebellious masses…
    Supporting a Socialist agenda is 1 of the most intellectually ignorant ways of thought & is truly AGAINST EVERYTHING our country has ever stood & fought for!
    It NEVER ceases to amaze me at the # of ppl who hate Trump bcuz the Libtard Lying Media & Tyrants in power have told ya to AND all of them, like Bernie Sanders & Pocahontas have been in office for decades YET HAVE NEVER DONE ANYTHING FOR THEIR OWN DISTRICT, LET ALONE, THE COUNTRY & ya really believe they’re gonna do something now!?!
    Ya ever wonder why they spend so long in Congress yet 99.5% don’t run for President? It’s because CONGRESS is where the power & $$ is~Not President!
    …AND, God forbid, 1 of those idiots would beat Trump, Prayerfully, we’d still have Congress in place to prevent ruinous policies like Med4ALL, Tuition, Open Borders & Illegal Care~bcuz, oh, by the way, their ’4All’ includes ALL illegals here now & any new ones from around the world who wanna make the trip… Buy some good shoes to stand in lines, now, b4 we’re all broke-if they win… BUT Sanders, Warren & the likes are all out making these promises for All the FREE stuff while knowing DAMN well that it’ll NEVER go through Congress! So, basically, if ya still haven’t realized it: THEY ARE LIARS SAYING ANYTHING TO GET YOUR VOTE! So, your best bet is to get an education, get a job & get GOOD Health Care the way the rest of us do~Drive to Morgantown or Baltimore!

    Reply

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