The West Virginia University Health System now includes five Pennsylvania hospitals.<\/p>\n
Butler Memorial Hospital, Clarion Hospital, Frick Hospital, Latrobe Hospital, and Westmoreland Hospital, as well as affiliated physician practices and outpatient facilities, moved from their previous operator Independence Health System to WVU Medicine on Thursday, Oct. 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis marks an exciting and important moment for these hospitals and the communities they serve as they join our network of care across the region,\u201d said Albert L. Wright, Jr., president and CEO of the WVU Health System. \u201cWe are grateful to the board members and leaders of these hospitals for placing their trust in us to build upon their success and create new opportunities for growth. We take that responsibility seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new hospital acquisitions have a combined bed count of 925, more than 1,000 physicians and advanced practice providers, and nearly 7,000 employees. The hospitals serve 750,000 people in more than 10 counties in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
EMT services to expand<\/p>\n
The move will widen emergency care in the hospitals’ regions, according to a WVU spokesperson. <\/p>\n
“We will expand emergency care access through services like Clarion Hospital Emergency Medical Services and local EMS partners in our other areas,” the spokesperson said. <\/p>\n
The incoming operator has committed $800 million over the next five years to modernize hospitals, according to a press release<\/a> from WVU Medicine, including updates to Butler Memorial Hospital\u2019s emergency room and Westmoreland Hospital\u2019s campus, as well as expand clinical services and improve care access.<\/p>\n “If they invest in emergency departments, that would be a huge plus for the community,” If a Clarion or Butler patient were referred to tertiary care in Morgantown, West Virginia, for example, that potentially poses long transit distances for emergency personnel, he said. <\/p>\n “That would be a long trip,” Watters said. “It really depends on how the system is set up.”<\/p>\n What the change means for patients<\/p>\n
said Gary Watters, president of the Ambulance Association of Pennsylvania. “The concern that comes to mind would be what is the referral pattern … How do patients get between those hospitals?”<\/p>\n