UPMC Altoona celebrates a decade of bringing specialized world-class care close to home
By: Bailey Schandelmeier
UPMC Altoona recently celebrated its 10th anniversary of affiliation with UPMC to commemorate a decade of providing world-class health care close to home for the Altoona region. As the tertiary health care hub in the region, UPMC Altoona has 398 beds, provides care for more than a half million patients each year, delivers over 1,500 babies annually, employs 2,800 people, and has a total annual economic impact to the region of more than $750 million.
“Over the last decade, our team has seen exceptional growth and technological advancements that drastically improve the way we deliver high-quality care,” said Jan Fisher, president, UPMC Altoona and UPMC Bedford. “Since our integration, we have created access to a variety of UPMC specialty services, such as UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, and UPMC Magee-Womens Services — bringing advanced care right here to our area.”
The goals of affiliation with UPMC were to secure and expand health care for Altoona and surrounding communities, strengthen and grow tertiary care services for the region, and provide financial resources to continue providing high-quality medical services for our region.
Creating convenient access to specialty care has been and remains a top priority of UPMC. Over the past 10 years, UPMC Altoona has added two outpatient specialty centers, in Hollidaysburg and Ebensburg, and added many additional services to Station Medical Center in Altoona to ensure that patients can receive care close to home. This has been instrumental to the goal of ensuring that patients are able to receive the right care, at the right time, in the right setting.
Since the integration, UPMC has invested nearly $200 million in capital improvements, including new and upgraded medical facilities, state-of-the-art clinical equipment, IT systems, and infrastructure. Last year alone, UPMC Altoona provided $41 million in charity care, health and wellness programs and direct donations to support other local non-profit organizations, programs and events in our community like local youth sports, the arts and more. “We have a very clear mission and that is to give back and to make sure the people that live in this community get the care that they deserve,” said Fisher.
“None of what we have accomplished in the past ten years would be possible without the outstanding team we have at UPMC Altoona,” Fisher said. “From our physicians and providers to those working in both clinical and non-clinical roles, our team works tirelessly to ensure our patients receive the care they need each day.”
