WEXFORD, Pa., Sept. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/
-- Representatives of Highmark Health and Allegheny Health
Network (AHN) today joined community leaders and elected officials
in Pine Township to officially
unveil AHN Wexford Hospital – a state-of-the-art, all-private
160-bed hospital that will bring a full range of high-quality,
innovative health care services to residents of communities north
of Pittsburgh. The hospital is
expected to open to patients in the coming weeks, pending licensing
by the state.
"When we began this journey to transform health care in
Western Pennsylvania a decade ago,
we knew we would invest significantly in our new provider network
to make care more convenient, effective and satisfying for the
people we serve," said David
Holmberg, Highmark Health president and CEO. "And
when our members who live in the northern Pittsburgh region told us they needed more
health care resources in their communities, we listened. In 2014,
we opened the AHN Wexford Health + Wellness Pavilion, followed
shortly thereafter by our Pediatric Orthopedic Institute across the
street. Just last March, we christened in McCandless our
fourth neighborhood hospital, and we are now poised to bring our
most ambitious investment yet to life for this region with the
opening of AHN Wexford Hospital."
Located along U.S. Route 19, the $313
million, 345,000-square-foot hospital is the single-largest
new facility investment in AHN's history and another significant
achievement in Highmark Health's and AHN's multi-year strategy to
improve access to high-quality, patient-centered health care
services across the Western
Pennsylvania region, said Cynthia Hundorfean, AHN president and
CEO.
"Today is an important milestone for our organization, for our
patients and for all residents of Pine
Township and surrounding communities in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler and Mercer counties," said Hundorfean. "With the
opening of this beautiful facility in a few weeks, where leading
AHN clinicians and support staff will provide exceptional care for
nearly every health need a patient might have, AHN and Highmark
Health are once again delivering on our promise to make
world-class, leading-edge health care services more accessible
close to home for those we serve."
AHN Wexford Hospital will include a 24-bed emergency department
with specialized pediatric and behavioral health rooms,
state-of-the-art operating rooms with minimally invasive robotic
surgery capabilities, a cardiac catheterization lab and hybrid OR
for advanced surgical procedures, a short-stay observation unit, an
adult intensive care unit, advanced diagnostic imaging, and
more.
Notably, AHN Wexford will also provide comprehensive women's and
infants' care, including the only labor and delivery unit based in
northern Allegheny County, as well
as high-risk obstetrical services and a Level II neonatal intensive
care unit. AHN Wexford will be the network's fifth obstetrical
hospital, joining AHN West Penn – one of the region's leading
obstetrical facilities – AHN Forbes in Monroeville, AHN Jefferson in Jefferson Hills and AHN Saint Vincent in
Erie.
As part of AHN's commitment to providing advanced care in
women's health across its footprint, AHN Wexford's capabilities for
women will include gynecological oncology, advanced breast care,
urogynecology and minimally invasive techniques for women's
surgical procedures. The hospital will also offer specialty care in
cancer, neurology, cardiology, radiology, gastroenterology,
rheumatology, endocrinology and orthopaedics, among other
disciplines.
Like all of AHN's full-service hospitals, AHN Wexford is
clinician-led with Allan Klapper,
MD, serving as president, Katie
Farah, MD, as chief medical officer, Lisa Graper, MSN, RN, NE-BC, as chief nursing
officer and Amy Cashdollar, DBA,
MSN, RN, CMPE, as chief operating officer. The hospital is expected
to have on staff more than 750 healthcare professionals.
"AHN Wexford was uniquely designed from the ground up by the
very health care professionals who will work within its walls or
who will partner with us in the community to provide exceptional
care for the people who need us," said Dr. Klapper. "Our collective
focus since day one has been to build a facility and team that is
unsurpassed in the quality and experience it affords patients and
their families, and we look forward to fulfilling that commitment
every day when these doors open."
The large, all-private inpatient rooms at AHN Wexford have ample
space for patient visitors with recumbent sleeping options and
plenty of natural light. Patients will be able to control their own
room temperature, lighting and entertainment with the touch of a
button, and select their meals from a room service menu.
When in need of fresh air and respite, AHN Wexford patients and
visitors will have access to the Mario Lemieux Foundation Healing
Terrace – an outdoor greenspace on the hospital's 3rd
level which is adjacent to Austin's Playroom and just outside the
hospital's labor and delivery unit. The playroom is the eighth of
its kind located in an AHN facility, and the 39th
playroom established by the Mario Lemieux Foundation. Austin's Playrooms provide a safe, fun and
engaging atmosphere for kids while their families focus on health,
wellness and even the arrival of a new sibling.
AHN Wexford is connected to the AHN Wexford Health + Wellness
Pavilion which offers a wide array of outpatient health services,
including primary care and multiple medical and surgical
specialties. The pavilion hosts comprehensive centers for cancer
treatment and women's health. It also includes an ambulatory
surgery center, breast center, comprehensive cardiovascular
services, advanced imaging and laboratory testing, walk-in express
care and an onsite pharmacy.
Powering both AHN Wexford Hospital and the Health + Wellness
Pavilion is an innovative, environmentally friendly energy solution
from Peoples Natural Gas. The 18,000-square-foot, two-story power
plant on the Wexford campus
produces electricity and thermal energy to meet both facilities'
energy needs, including electricity, heat, chilled water, hot water
and steam.
Since Highmark Health and AHN announced plans in 2017 to build a
hospital in Pine Township as part
of a broader, $1 billion capital
investment strategy, the network has opened four new neighborhood
hospitals; five new regional cancer centers; a new academic cancer
institute and research hub at Allegheny General Hospital; and
multiple new health + wellness pavilions and outpatient centers.
AHN has also made significant investments in facility and program
expansions within its existing hospitals.
HKS served as the architect for AHN Wexford, and Gilbane/Massaro
the lead construction partner.
To learn more about AHN Wexford Hospital, visit
www.ahn.org/wexford.
About Allegheny Health Network
Allegheny Health Network (AHN.org), a Highmark Health company,
is an integrated healthcare delivery system serving the greater
Western Pennsylvania region. The
Network is composed of 13 hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers,
Health + Wellness Pavilions, an employed physician organization,
home and community-based health services, a research institute and
a group purchasing organization. The Network provides patients with
access to a complete spectrum of advanced medical services,
including nationally recognized programs for primary and emergency
care, cardiovascular disease, cancer care, orthopedic surgery,
neurology and neurosurgery, women's health, diabetes and more. AHN
employs approximately 21,000 people, has more than 2,600 physicians
on its medical staff and serves as a clinical campus for
Drexel University College of Medicine
and the Lake Erie College of
Osteopathic Medicine.
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SOURCE Allegheny Health Network