To commemorate their fifth anniversary, UPMC East recently held an outdoor celebration for its employees and stakeholders from the community.
Under a large white tent, the crowd was peppered with leaders and staff including housekeeping, laboratory, dietary, technicians, nurses and doctors. Between nurses and doctors on lunch breaks and hospital executives smiling and shaking hands, it was a rare opportunity for everyone to come together and reflect on the past five years of operation.
Mark Sevco, president of UPMC East, said he takes pride in the evidence of success over the past five years. The increase in emergency department visits from 36,000 to 50,000 is just the tip of the iceberg.
“We continue to have aspirations to grow,” said Sevco.
Some examples of the impact the hospital has had since opening are:
- Primary Care Physicians have increased 50 percent from 100 to 150.
- The number of employees has doubled.
- There have been 219,899 ED visits.
- More than 21,000 surgeries across 10 different surgical services have been performed.
- Community benefits contributions of more than $30 million.
The impact and successes go far beyond the numbers.
“We’ve always talked about providing the ultimate patient care experience. Our numbers here have reflected your commitment to taking care of patients and supporting the community,” Sevco said to the tent full of health care providers and staff at the hospital. “It’s not about the brick-and-mortar. It’s not about the technology. It’s really about the relationships that you guys make along the way while taking care of patients.”
Many of the staff members in attendance have been there since the first day the hospital opened (and some even before), and the pride they have in their workplace was evident with every wide smile.
With the numbers and care UPMC East has delivered since its opening, they have a great foundation for growth in the next five years. Dr. Steve Shapiro, president of UPMC Health Services division, is optimistic about UPMC East’s future in the area.
“UPMC stands for high quality, affordable care with a great experience, and this is a growing area and we look forward to more growth and taking outstanding care of the community,” he said.
Behind all the innovations and successes to come, executives made the reasoning behind those successes clear: the people.
“I feel very blessed to be a part of this team and work with these associates here,” Sevco said. “The reason that East has continued to grow isn’t just because it’s beautiful — it’s because of the care that you’ve delivered.”
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