Five western Pennsylvania hospitals and their affiliated physician practices and outpatient facilities began operating today under the umbrella of the West Virginia University Health System.
Butler Memorial Hospital, Clarion Hospital, Frick Hospital, Latrobe Hospital and Westmoreland Hospital officially joined the new health system as of Oct. 1, after previously operating under Independence Health System.
“We will invest in their people, programs, and physical infrastructure to ensure the hospitals remain strong for generations to come,” WVU Health System President and CEO Albert L. Wright Jr. said in a news release. “We’re here for the long term, and together, we’re going to do great things.”
In January 2025, WVU Medicine Westmoreland Hospital partnered with WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s Hospital to enhance neonatal intensive care unit services for the county’s patients, a partnership that ultimately led to a broader affiliation and today’s announcement.
Just more than a month ago, workers replaced the signage on Westmoreland Hospital with the WVU Medicine logo.
The WVU Health System operates 25 hospitals, including one in Uniontown, and employs more than 39,000 people.
Through the acquisition, WVU Medicine becomes the second-largest health system operating in Western Pennsylvania, behind only the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which has 40 hospitals and more than 100,000 employees.