Pittsburgh Information on Hospitals
UPMC
WPAHS
Medical care is not something to be taken for
granted. Just as Pittsburgh's reputation is
turning from smoke and steel to one of a leader in
robotics and high tech industries, so too is the City of
Champions gaining a new eminence in the field of
medicine.
Today, Pittsburgh's hospitals boast highly trained physicians, the latest
medical procedures and treatment research, and the most up-to-date
facilities and technology. Many have to travel to seek this kind of
distinguished care but those of Pittsburgh, PA have it right at their
fingertips with the University of Pittsburgh
Medical Centers (UPMC) and the West Penn
Allegheny Health Systems (WPAHS).
Both of these health providers have developed and progressed over the
years to become what they are today. Separate facilities have been
combined and others have been newly created in many areas surrounding the
city. From hospitals and cancer centers to surgical facilities and
rehabilitation units, Pittsburgh offers a wealth of medical expertise that
could never have been imagined 50 years ago.
Even so, Pittsburgh's medical traditions run deep. In 1777, Hand's
Hospital, the nation's first federal hospital was erected by General Edward
Hand to care for troops at Fort Pitt. According to Arthur M. Fording's
Recollections and Reminiscences of the West End, 'It was about 100
feet long and 30 feet wide, two stories high, with a porch extending
entirely around it. There were two doors, one on either side but no windows,
and two partitions divided it into three rooms above and below. Several
block houses surrounded it at some distance, probably a half dozen or more.'
Unfortunately, nothing of Hand's Hospital remains today, but what has passed
down through the years is Pittsburgh's spirit of innovation and reinvention
in all things.
University of Pittsburgh Medical Centers (UPMC)
Let's start our exploration of Pittsburgh's hospitals in the Oakland
area, the headquarters for UPMC. Here lie several of the main
components of the hospitals that UPMC oversees including:
- The Eye & Ear Institute
- Magee-Women's Hospital
- Presbyterian Hospital
- Montefiore Hospital
- Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
- Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
The Eye & Ear Institute
The Eye & Ear Institute is one of a few centers in
the nation dedicated entirely to the management of
problems related to otolaryngology and ophthalmology.
Magee-Women's Hospital
Magee-Women's Hospital of UPMC recognizes the role
gender plays in the treatment and prevention of disease.
Magee is one of the original six National Centers of
Excellence in Women's Health as designated by the U.S.
Department of Health.
UPMC Presbyterian
UPMC Presbyterian is a renowned center for numerous
medical specialties, including organ transplantation,
cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery, critical care
medicine and trauma services, and neurology. It is also
a site of leading clinical research and graduate medical
programs in conjunction with the University of
Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Montefiore Hospital
Montefiore Hospital offers a Comprehensive Lung
Center, the Benedum Geriatric Center, and a Facial Nerve
Center, along with many other state-of-the-art services,
including transplantations.
The Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
The Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic is the
leading hospital of its kind offering services to
children, adolescents, adult, and geriatric patients.
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
One of the most highly accomplished parts of the UPMC
system is the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, located in the
Lawrenceville area of Pittsburgh, is the only hospital
in western Pennsylvania devoted solely to the care of
infants, children, and young adults. It is committed to
serving the 500,000 patients it receives each year.
and has been named as one of the top 10 children's
hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
Children's Hospital was located originally in Oakland, but on May 2, 2009
it officially opened its new 10-acre campus in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville
neighborhood. The redesign came from input from physicians, nurses, and
families. Now there are spacious, private rooms designed with children in
mind, enhanced research facilities designed to maximize efficiency in
patient care, and the largest family resource center in the world.
UPMC - Leading Health System in the US
UPMC is a global health enterprise and is one of the
leading health systems in the United States. It
serves more than four million people a year and is the
largest employer of Western Pennsylvania with about
50,000 employees. Its partnership with the University of
Pittsburgh Schools of Health Sciences has allowed it to
develop internationally renowned programs in
transplantation, cancer, neurosurgery, psychiatry,
orthopaedics, and sports medicine.
UPMC's success begins with the goal of striving for innovation. For
the future, UPMC has invested in information technology so that all medical
records can be accessed electronically across all of its hospitals.
UPMC has also has invested in research in new fields such as regenerative
medicine and biosecurity.
Despite all of its success, the multibillion dollar company started out
with humble beginnings. It began with one hospital on the North Side
of Pittsburgh - Presbyterian Hospital. Then in 1927 it formally became
affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh and then eventually the Eye &
Ear Hospital a few years later. They constructed buildings on Fifth
Avenue in Oakland and by 1961 the organization was known as
Presbyterian-University Hospital. Four years later, it combined and
incorporated with the Falk Clinic, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic,
and Magee-Women's Hospital to become the University Health Center of
Pittsburgh. Then in the early 1970s Dr. Thomas Detre began forging the
hospital ahead with reorganization. This reorganization became even
more successful when Mr. Jeffrey Romoff became the new UPMC president in
1992. Since that time the organization has blossomed and combined with
other leading hospitals in the area to give a comprehensive and cutting edge
medical experience for local and national patients.
While we have mentioned only a few, the UPMC family of hospitals is quite
large and includes facilities serving patients far beyond Allegheny County.
There is even a UPMC hospital located in Palermo, Sicily, serving the region
of Sicily and the Mediterranean.
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West Penn Allegheny Health Systems (WPAHS)
While the resources of UPMC are broad and all-encompassing, the residents
of Pittsburgh benefit from the exceptional competition provided by the West
Penn Allegheny Health System (WPAHS).
Allegheny General, West Penn Hospital,
and Four Community Hospitals
WPAHS is comprised of some of the oldest and best-known names in health
care in western Pennsylvania. The two main hospitals in Pittsburgh include
Allegheny General Hospital that was founded in 1885 and the Western
Pennsylvania Hospital, which was founded in 1848 as Pittsburgh's first
chartered public hospital.
Both hospitals are known for their excellence in care for patients,
medical education, and research. In addition WPAHS has four community
hospitals. These hospitals include the Alle-Kiski Medical Center in
Natrona Heights; Canonsburg General Hospital in Canonsburg; The Western
Pennsylvania Hospital - Forbes Regional Campus in Monroeville; and Allegheny
General Hospital - Suburban Campus in Bellevue. The WPAHS system is smaller
than UPMC but it is among the leaders in percentages of total surgeries,
cardiac surgeries, neurosurgeries and cardiac catheterization procedures
performed throughout the region. WPAHS employs about 13,000 employees
and admits nearly 79,000 patients per year.
WPAHS has won numerous awards and is committed to training health care
professionals. The Western Pennsylvania Hospital is the first hospital
in Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania to achieve Magnet' recognition status
from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Magnet
designation is a worldwide recognition for excellence in nursing. In
addition, Allegheny General was named in the top 100 hospitals for
cardiovascular care and in the top 100 of the country's performance
improvement leaders and has a premium cardiac specialty center. It is
currently studying new technology for treatment of heart failure.
Because WPAHS is committed to education, the system has two clinical
campuses: Allegheny General Hospital serves as the clinical campus for the
Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, and The Western
Pennsylvania Hospital serves as the clinical campus for Temple University
School of Medicine in Philadelphia.
City of Medical Champions
Today, along with its many sports and technological achievements,
Pittsburgh can proudly proclaim itself a 'City of Medical Champions.'
Whatever medical need the people of Western Pennsylvania or its surrounding
areas may require, the answer can be found in Pittsburgh's remarkable
medical facilities, where the level of care, experience, knowledge, and
cutting edge research is just one more aspect of our great city now
receiving the national and international attention it deserves.
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