UPMC plans to spend $70 million to develop Jameson facilities and services

Staff report

NEW CASTLE, PA.

The boards of directors for Jameson Health System and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center have signed a nonbinding letter of intent to merge Jameson into the UPMC network.

A UPMC-Jameson partnership will ensure world-class quality and long-term continued access to health care for the entire region, said Steve Warner, Jameson Health System board chairman.

UPMC plans $70 million for the development of facilities and services of Jameson — with at least $15 million earmarked for improvements over the next two years, Warner said.

The affiliation will enable Jameson, located on Wilmington Avenue, to benefit from UPMC’s world-class clinical, educational, and technological resources, Warner said. There are important functions that Jameson would have had difficulty achieving without the resources and expertise that UPMC brings, he added.

The substantial financial commitments from UPMC will expand and evolve health-care services in the Lawrence/Mercer County region. UPMC will commit to no less than 10 years of planned service improvements for the region, including physician recruitment, capital improvements, and coordination of clinical programs.

Within the next six months, a plan will be developed for both Jameson and UPMC to address the creation and expansion of facilities and equipment for clinical programs.

“Our choice to integrate with UPMC is the right one because it will preserve and enhance our ability to provide exceptional health care close to home,” Warner said.

“This action will protect and enhance regional health-care delivery for many years to come. Our community leaders will work together to develop the best plan for Mercer and Lawrence counties,” said Frank Mindicino, UPMC Horizon board chairman.

Jameson Health System is a nonprofit health-care system that includes inpatient acute care and outpatient hospital services including adult and pediatric care; 24-hour emergency services; surgical and ambulatory care; and outpatient rehabilitation and physician-based clinic and office services. It has more than 1,300 employees, 250 physicians and 25 facilities.

The Pittsburgh-based UPMC is the largest nongovernmental employer in Pennsylvania with 62,000 employees, more than 20 hospitals, and 400 doctors’ offices and outpatient sites.