UPMC Announces $2B Investment to Build 3 Digitally Based Specialty Hospitals Backed by World-Leading Innovative, Translational Science

New patient-focused cancer, heart and transplant, vision and rehabilitation hospitals augment mental health, pediatric and women’s specialty care

UPMC today announced a bold plan to transform patient care with three leading-edge, new specialty hospitals that will offer next-generation treatments in patient-focused, technology-enhanced settings unique to health care. Backed by a $2 billion investment from UPMC, the all-new UPMC Heart and Transplant Hospital, UPMC Hillman Cancer Hospital and UPMC Vision and Rehabilitation Hospital will add to UPMC’s complement of advanced specialty care at Magee-Womens Hospital, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

“UPMC is recognized around the world for pioneering treatments that are backed by groundbreaking research in an unparalleled care network,” said Jeffrey A. Romoff, president and chief executive officer, UPMC. “Our transformative vision will make available the most innovative treatments for cancer, heart disease, transplantation, diseases of aging, vision restoration and rehabilitation, among many others. Working in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, we will radically change health care as we know it to provide personalized, effective and compassionate care. At core, these digitally based specialty hospitals are the expression of our cutting-edge translational science creating treatments and cures for the most devastating diseases.

“We are also pleased to announce that Microsoft will collaborate with UPMC in designing these ‘digital hospitals of the future.’ Building on our existing research collaboration with Microsoft and its Azure cloud platform, we will apply technology in ways that will transform what today is often a disjointed and needlessly complex experience for patients and clinicians,” said Romoff. “UPMC and Microsoft will have more to share in the coming months.”
The UPMC Vision and Rehabilitation Hospital, on the UPMC Mercy campus, is expected to open in 2020 to offer advanced clinical vision care. Clinicians and researchers at the new hospital will pursue promising new research for vision restoration and diseases of the eye, and offer technology-assisted rehabilitation services that restore mobility for patients with wide-ranging physical and cognitive challenges.The all-new hospitals will be situated on the campuses of UPMC’s Mercy, Presbyterian and Shadyside hospitals. Designs for the UPMC Heart and Transplant Hospital and the UPMC Hillman Cancer Hospital will be selected in an international design competition.

Patients of the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, a name that is synonymous with unmatched excellence in cancer care, and the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the region, will receive specialized treatment in the new UPMC Hillman Cancer Hospital, located on the UPMC Shadyside campus. The facility is expected to open in 2022.

Building on UPMC’s legacy in organ transplantation, the UPMC Heart and Transplant Hospital in the heart of Oakland on the UPMC Presbyterian campus will provide the highest caliber organ transplantation and cardiac procedures available anywhere in the world.

“Tomorrow’s UPMC, we are confident, will not only be best-in-class,” said G. Nicholas Beckwith, III, chairperson, UPMC Board of Directors. “It will, in fact, have created a class virtually unto itself.”

The $2 billion investment is in addition to UPMC’s annual capital commitments of nearly $1 billion and will result in no increase in inpatient beds.

About UPMC’s Specialty Hospitals:

UPMC Heart and Transplant Hospital at UPMC Presbyterian

• Home of Thomas E. Starzl, M.D., the “father of transplantation,” and these transplant firsts:
  • World’s first pediatric heart-liver transplant: 1984
  • World’s first heart-liver-kidney transplant: 1989
  • First medical center to discharge a patient on a ventricular assist device: 1990
• Performed more than 19,500 total transplants and over 2,000 lung transplants, the most of any lung transplant program in the U.S.
• One of the most experienced liver transplant programs in the country and a leader in living donor liver transplantation
• Nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report for cardiology and heart surgery for the last 10 years*
• Location of the nation’s first LIVE (Less Invasive Ventricular Enhancement) surgery to repair the heart after severe heart attacks
• Second center in the world to surpass 3,000 cardiothoracic transplants
• One of only a few programs in the country with heart transplant recipients now nearing or beyond 30-years post-transplant

UPMC Hillman Cancer Hospital at UPMC Shadyside

• Consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as having one of the best cancer programs in America*
• The only nationally ranked cancer program in the region, and the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the region
• Among the largest integrated community cancer networks in the U.S., providing world-class care and clinical research to more than 110,000 patients a year at over 60 locations
• Allows patients to begin treatment plans and receive follow-up care after surgery in their own communities thanks to the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center network
• Where patients seek comprehensive care, second opinions and clinical trials on rare cancers and the most challenging medical cases
• Employs the latest innovative technologies, including intensity-modulated radiation therapy, treatments using RapidArc®, TrueBeam™ STx, CyberKnife®M6™, and PET–CT planning, which was pioneered by UPMC physicians

UPMC Vision and Rehabilitation Hospital at UPMC Mercy

• UPMC Eye Center directed by world-renowned expert in vision therapies and developer of interventions, such as stem cell implantation, gene therapy, innovative pharmacologic approaches and the artificial retina
• Leading research initiatives for vision restoration techniques, including age-related macular degeneration
• Ranked one of the top ophthalmology programs in the U.S. by Ophthalmology Times for delivery of patient care
• World-class ophthalmologists available to patients outside of Pittsburgh with real-time image transmission and video display through UPMC’s teleophthalmology program
• Largest rehabilitation network in western Pennsylvania, and one of the largest in the U.S., treating 4,678 inpatients and 72,000 outpatients in the past year
• Rehabilitation outcomes consistently better than national averages in the areas of patient independence, efficiency and discharge to the community
• Implementing innovative early mobility initiatives for ICU patients to reduce the risk of delirium, muscle loss, ventilator-associated pneumonia and psychological distress
• Clinical research to enable individuals with severe spinal cord injuries to control robotic arms with the brain and re-experience the sense of touch with brain-computer interfaces
• Leading groundbreaking rehabilitation efforts for cancer patients, who need interdisciplinary rehabilitation because of the cancer itself or the treatment

Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC

• Ranked on U.S. News & World Report’s Honor Roll of America’s Best Children’s Hospitals for eight consecutive years
• Served patients and families from all 50 states and 50+ countries in the past five years with advanced specialty care
• Nation’s first pediatric transplant center, performing more than 3,300 transplants
• Heart Institute has one of the lowest overall four-year surgical mortality rates in the nation among all high-volume programs with a mortality rate under 2 percent
• Heart Institute awarded a 3-Star rating by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (2012-2016), one of only 11 programs to receive this distinction
• First pediatric hospital in the nation recognized by HIMSS for its early adoption of electronic health records and technology to improve patient outcomes
• Telemedicine consultation and care management programs provided globally with hospitals in Brazil, Colombia and Serbia, and nationally in Florida and Virginia

Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC

• One of the top 12 hospitals in the nation for psychiatric care, according to U.S. News & World Report*
• Leading recipient in National Institutes of Health psychiatry research funding
• Only Center for Interventional Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Intensive Care Unit in the region
• Award-winning specialty programs in child and adolescent bipolar disorders and adolescent suicide prevention
• Nationally recognized by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for LGBTQ health care equality
• National pace-setter in the integration of behavioral health services in medical clinics
• Centers for excellence in the diagnosis and treatment of addiction disorders
• Ranked in the top 10 psychiatry resident training programs in the nation
• Leading clinical psychology internship program in the country
• One of the nation’s first and largest academic-affiliated telepsychiatry programs, averaging more than 12,000 consults a year

Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC

• Specialized expertise in women’s health across the lifespan, including prenatal and postnatal health, mid-life and menopausal services, and end-of-life care
• One of the busiest obstetrics programs in the country, with nearly 10,000 babies born each year
• Treats more than 1,500 seriously or critically ill babies each year in the highest volume neonatal intensive care unit in Pennsylvania and one of the largest in the country
• Collaborates with Magee-Womens Research Institute, one of the largest research institutes in the U.S. devoted exclusively to women’s health research
• One of the first teaching facilities recognized as a National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Offers women comprehensive and compassionate outpatient care for opioid addiction in a first-of-its-kind Pregnancy Recovery Center
• One of the busiest clinical sites in the country for women’s cancer including nurses, doctors and support programs all focused on women’s cancer
• Blend of clinical expertise and innovative research dedicated to breast cancer prevention and treatment ensures patients receive the most comprehensive breast care available

*U.S. News & World Report rankings are based on UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside data.