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.
Austin's Playroom from the Mario Lemieux Foundation
Operating room
Patient room with natural light
Wexford Hospital birthing suite
Wexford Hospital front entrance
Wexford Hospital community partners
"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.
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.
SOURCE Allegheny Health Network
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