Highmark Health, AHN Identify Hempfield Township as Location for Planned New “Neighborhood” Hospital
HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. (PRWEB) December 11, 2017 -- Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network (AHN) today identified Hempfield Township in Westmoreland County as the first location for one of four new neighborhood hospitals the organizations plan to construct across western Pennsylvania over the next two years. The facility will be built at the junction of Agnew Road and Route 30 and will be called AHN Hempfield—Neighborhood Hospital. AHN is in the process of securing regulatory approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Health and fully expects to comply with all applicable hospital licensure rules and regulations. Pending state approval, the hospital is targeted for a 2019 opening.
“With this neighborhood hospital, we are bringing to Westmoreland County an innovative, patient-centered model that will provide the best possible experience, quality and outcomes for those requiring emergency care, short hospital stays and other outpatient services,” said Cynthia Hundorfean, AHN President and CEO. “We have taken a number of important steps over the past year to expand access to AHN physicians and programs in Westmoreland County, and this wonderful new facility will further ensure that the people who live here have exceptional choices close to home for their health care needs.”
AHN Hempfield is part of a plan announced by Highmark Health and AHN in October to invest $1 billion in new facility construction and existing facility expansion and renovation over the next four to five years to further improve access to affordable, high-quality health care services in the western Pennsylvania region. A key component of that strategy is the formation of a joint venture with Emerus, the nation’s leading developer and operator of neighborhood hospitals.
AHN will be among the first health systems east of the Mississippi to incorporate the Emerus neighborhood hospital concept into its care delivery model. AHN Hempfield will offer an assortment of onsite clinical services, including an emergency department, 10 inpatient beds for observation and short-stay use, diagnostic care, primary and specialty care, and other complementary services. Among the planned physician practices at the site will be specialists in neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, thoracic surgery, cardiology, general and breast surgery, and women’s subspecialties.
Unlike standalone emergency departments or urgent care centers, the facility will be a fully licensed hospital that is open 24/7 and able to accommodate patients who require certain inpatient services. It will be staffed by board-certified physicians, nurses and other experienced health care professionals, all of whom are aligned around a proven, high-quality care model. Emerus has received the prestigious Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award, which recognizes top-performing health care organizations that have consistently achieved the top 95th percentile or above for exceptional patient experience, for five consecutive years.
“We are excited to partner with AHN to deliver what will be a truly differentiated health care experience in this community. Our model is focused entirely around the needs of patients, and the importance of providing excellent care in an expedited and compassionate manner to those who seek our services,” said Craig Gogeun, CEO of Emerus.
Among numerous patient-friendly design elements, AHN Hempfield will feature nursing stations uniquely configured to maximize sightlines and accessibility, allowing staff to easily monitor exam rooms and minimize response times. Aesthetically pleasing and technologically advanced CT and X-ray procedure rooms will provide comfort for patients of any age, with adjacent observation rooms that keep families together during procedures. An onsite lab will expedite testing processes so patients don’t have to wait long for results.
AHN Hempfield will offer coordinated service, from emergency care to referrals to onsite primary and specialty care physicians if needed and as appropriate. The hospital will be integrated into AHN’s EPIC electronic health record, allowing medical records to be accessed and shared seamlessly for the best quality of care possible.
The new hospital is the latest and largest expansion of AHN’s footprint in Westmoreland County. In October, AHN opened a walk-in clinic at the lower level of the Premier Medical Associates medical office building at 4044 State Route 130 in Penn Township. The clinic features the providers of the Allegheny Family Medicine East practice and offers appointment-free care for a variety of aches and ailments, with extended evening hours available two nights a week.
Earlier this year, the AHN Outpatient Center—Westmoreland also opened on Nature Park Road in Hempfield Township. The 23,000-square-foot facility provides access to medical and surgical specialists and features a state-of-the-art endoscopy center for patients requiring gastrointestinal procedures. The Outpatient Center also offers physical and occupational therapy services, a lab for blood draws and both X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) services.
About Highmark Health
Highmark Health, a Pittsburgh, PA based enterprise that employs more than 40,000 people nationwide and serves nearly 50 million Americans in all 50 states, is the second largest integrated health care delivery and financing network in the nation based on revenue. Highmark Health is the parent company of Highmark Inc., Allegheny Health Network, and HM Health Solutions. Highmark Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates provide health insurance to more than 5 million members in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware as well as dental insurance, vision care and related health products through a national network of diversified businesses that include United Concordia Companies, HM Insurance Group, Davis Vision and Visionworks. Allegheny Health Network is the parent company of an integrated delivery network that includes eight hospitals, more than 2,800 affiliated physicians, ambulatory surgery centers, an employed physician organization, home and community-based health services, a research institute, a group purchasing organization, and health and wellness pavilions in western Pennsylvania. HM Health Solutions focuses on meeting the information technology platform and other business needs of the Highmark Health enterprise as well as unaffiliated health insurance plans by providing proven business processes, expert knowledge and integrated cloud-based platforms. To learn more, please visit http://www.highmarkhealth.org.
About the Allegheny Health Network
Allegheny Health Network (http://www.AHN.org), a Highmark Health company, is an integrated healthcare system serving the greater Western Pennsylvania region. The Network is composed of eight hospitals, including Allegheny General Hospital, its flagship academic medical center in Pittsburgh, Allegheny Valley Hospital in Natrona Heights, Canonsburg Hospital in Canonsburg, Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, Jefferson Hospital in Jefferson Hills, Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie, West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh and Westfield Memorial Hospital in Westfield, NY. 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. It also is home to a comprehensive research institute; Health + Wellness Pavilions; an employed physician organization, home and community based health services and a group purchasing organization. The Network employs approximately 17,000 people, has more than 2,800 physicians on its medical staff and serves as a clinical campus for Drexel University College of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.
About Emerus
Emerus is the nation’s first and largest operator of neighborhood hospitals. Emerus partners with leading health systems to provide excellence, empathy and innovation in health care delivery through a network of efficient, value-based neighborhood hospitals. The Emerus network brings high-quality, patent-centric acute episodic and ambulatory clinical services to communities across a given market. This helps patients by positioning best-in-class provider services in the communities where they work, live and play. Emerus’ distinctive level of care earned the Guardian of Excellence Award for Superior Patient Experience in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. More information is available at http://www.emerus.com (http://www.emerus.com).
Doug Braunsdorf, Allegheny Health Network, +1 412-522-7112, [email protected]
Share this article