UPMC Passavant Cranberry
Meeting the Health Care Needs of a Growing Community
 As Pittsburgh’s northern communities continue to grow, it is
extremely important that the infrastructure required to meet
residents’ health care needs keeps pace with this rapid expansion. At UPMC Passavant Cranberry, major changes are underway to allow the
hospital to continue to serve and to expand services to this
ever-increasing population.
Over the course of the next several years, there will be a
multi-million dollar investment in UPMC Passavant Cranberry’s campus
in response to the growing health care needs of the northern
communities,” explains Marcie Caplan, vice president, Operations, UPMC
Passavant Cranberry. “Our service area has grown at a strong pace and
is projected to grow from an estimated 64,647 residents currently to
71,206 residents by 2009 — a 10.1 percent increase.
“Over the past year, more than 800,000 square feet of new community
construction has been approved, in addition to seven residential
developments that include townhouses, multi- and single-family
dwellings,” she adds. “Seven additional residential plans are under
review, as well as another 163,000 square feet of business
development. With all of this growth, we believe that the timing is
right for the hospital to expand in order to respond to the needs of
residents in our service area.”
According to Ms. Caplan, the hospital’s expansion has already included
the creation of an advanced monitoring unit for patients who need a
step up from regular medical/surgical beds, as well as an advanced
Imaging Center and the Comprehensive Breast Center. The next item on
the agenda is the expansion of UPMC Passavant Cranberry’s Emergency
Department and a connector that ties the hospital to the medical
offices in the East Building, where the Imaging Center, Comprehensive
Breast Center and physical, occupational, and speech therapy areas are
housed. In the future, the medical Short Stay Unit and the Sleep Lab
will also be relocated to the East Building.
“Since joining us in 2002, the UPMC Passavant Cranberry facility has
grown exponentially,” says Teresa G. Petrick, president, UPMC
Passavant and UPMC Passavant Cranberry. “Though we’ve already improved
much of the infrastructure, our goal is to continue to expand the
capabilities of the hospital in order to serve the growing health care
needs of this community. We want people to be able to receive the care
they need close to home.”
Expanding the Emergency Department
One of the most noticeable projects underway at UPMC Passavant
Cranberry is the $9 million expansion of the Emergency Department
(ED), which will grow from its current 12 rooms to 20 rooms. The
department also will house a special pediatric area in conjunction
with Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.
“Currently there are nine regular beds and three fast-track beds in
the emergency department, and we will be expanding this to 20 ED beds,
four or five of which will be allotted for pediatric patients,”
explains Ravi Vajjhala, MD, director of Emergency Medicine at UPMC
Passavant Cranberry. “We estimate that with this expansion our volume
will grow from treating 20,000 patients a year to approximately 25,000
patients a year, with a projected volume of 40,000 patients by 2013,
and that we will see a substantial increase in the volume of pediatric
patients as well.”
Of the 20,000 patients currently treated in the Emergency Department
each year, approximately 25 percent of them are children. “We are very
excited about collaborating with UPMC Passavant Cranberry to bring
pediatric emergency medicine to this community,” says Richard A.
Saladino, MD, chief, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. The new pediatric unit will
be staffed by Children’s Hospital emergency medicine physicians.
According to Jerry Andree, Cranberry Township manager, pediatric
emergency services are much needed in the community. “This affiliation
with Children’s Hospital is indicative of UPMC Passavant Cranberry’s
understanding of our community and its health care needs,” says Mr.
Andree. “In a clear divergence from the rest of the region, the median
age in Cranberry continues to go down. We have more kids per family
here than in surrounding counties, and UPMC Passavant Cranberry is
being very responsive to this market.”
The Emergency Department expansion, which is slated for completion in
July 2008, will also provide more space for UPMC Passavant Cranberry’s
Stroke Telemedicine System, which was implemented in March 2006. “All
exam rooms will be wired for use of the remote-controlled camera,
which will allow us to provide better care for stroke patients,” says
Dr. Vajjhala. The Stroke Telemedicine System uses state-of-the-art
videoconferencing technology to link experts at the UPMC Stroke
Institute to emergency room physicians at UPMC Passavant and UPMC
Passavant Cranberry.
“We also will be able to offer CT scans around the clock.”
Inpatient and Outpatient Services
According to Ms. Caplan, since UPMC took over ownership of UPMC
Passavant Cranberry in 2002, almost every area of the hospital has
seen patient volumes increase. “Our Emergency Department volume has
grown by 16 percent, outpatient volume has grown by 26 percent, and
the volume of surgical services has grown by 15 percent,” she
explains. “Even more striking, our inpatient volume has grown by 105
percent.”
In order to meet this growing need, UPMC Passavant Cranberry includes
an inpatient capacity of 35 beds. “By having inpatient services, we
are able to keep the vast majority of patients here at their community
hospital,” says Philip Iozzi, DO. “The specialists we consult with
also rotate through UPMC Passavant Cranberry, so patients don’t need
to go elsewhere to see those doctors, which makes it easier for
patients and their families.”
“Because of UPMC Passavant Cranberry’s expansion, we are able to
provide a higher level of services to our patients up north,” agrees
Barbara Fardo, MD. “Instead of saying, ‘sorry, we can’t do that
procedure at Cranberry,’ now we actually can do the procedure. We no
longer have to transfer patients to other facilities because we can’t
meet their needs.” Patients staying in the hospital and their families
also have access to UPMC Passavant Cranberry’s Concierge service,
which makes patients’ stays easier by providing help in a number of
areas, including hotel and lodging information, postal services,
dining options, dry cleaning pick-up and drop-off, and making
arrangements for car service.
While not every patient can be treated at UPMC Passavant Cranberry,
the fact that the hospital is part of the University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center provides them with access to larger, tertiary care
facilities as well. Critically ill patients can be quickly transferred
from UPMC Passavant Cranberry to UPMC Passavant, in the North Hills,
or UPMC Presbyterian via Stat MedEvac, the helicopter transport
service.
Whether staying as an inpatient at UPMC Passavant Cranberry or
undergoing outpatient procedures, visitors to the hospital can take
advantage of the latest technology. “From a radiology perspective, the
facility is truly state-of-the-art,” says Dr. Iozzi. “The vast
majority of our patients use the lab here, and are extremely pleased
with its excellent turnaround times. Physicians are also able to get
answers from the lab 24/7—we can call for results in the middle of the
night if we want.”
In addition to imaging and laboratory services on-site, UPMC Passavant
Cranberry also offers surgical services, programming through the Sleep
Disorder Center and nutritional counseling. Outpatient physical
therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and respiratory therapy
also are available at the facility.
Surgical Services
As UPMC Passavant Cranberry continues to expand, improvements will be
made in the breadth of surgical services provided at the hospital. “As
the hospital grows, we also will be able to expand the scope of the
surgeries we do here,” explains David Price, MD. “We also will be able
to provide more ancillary services, such as interventional radiology,
that we have not been able to offer in the past.
High-Touch and High-Tech
Even as UPMC Passavant Cranberry expands its clinical capabilities, it
remains, at heart, a community hospital. “All of our departments have
always worked collaboratively to put patients first, and we will
continue to nurture that concept as we expand,” says Pat Boyle,
assistant vice president, Operations, UPMC Passavant Cranberry. “We
are dedicated to our role as a high-tech, high-touch hospital.”
“What is truly unique about UPMC Passavant Cranberry is that it has
always retained its personalized community orientation — patients
aren’t a number here,” agrees Dr. Price. “It’s a place that the
community can be proud of, and feel good about using.”
For more than 22 years, the Health Assistance Program for Personnel
and Industry, or HAPPI, has been helping employees recover from
job-related injuries, while helping employers reduce workers’
compensations and lost work days. As the longest-running occupational
medicine program in western Pennsylvania, HAPPI serves more than 4,500
patients a year through its office at UPMC Passavant Cranberry.
“Our patients benefit from the fact that we are a hospital-based
clinic where we have the backup of a full service Emergency Department
and are strategically located in the same building with physical
therapy and radiology services,” said Leslie Hlad, practice manager.
“Being so centrally located is very convenient for our patients.”
Approximately half of the patients that are seen through the Health
Assistance Program are treated for injuries, with the other half
undergoing pre-employment or job-required physicals, OSHA medical
surveillance exams, or drug and alcohol testing. HAPPI also provides a
comprehensive menu of services that includes workers’ compensation
injury evaluation and treatment, immunizations, tests and screenings,
drug and alcohol testing services, and psychological evaluations.
“When an employer sends us an employee, we evaluate that person within
10 to 15 minutes of his or her arrival,” said Hlad. “We determine if
the patient needs work restrictions, or can return to full duty.
Before he or she leaves here with discharge papers, we will have
arranged all of the referrals that the patient may need, such as
appointments for MRI or CT scans, or referral to specialists. This is
done in order to have our patients evaluated and treated as quickly as
possible.” While appointments are preferred, HAPPI also accepts
walk-in clients.
“Because our medical director is board-certified in Occupational
Medicine, we truly understand work-related medical care and compliance
issues in the workplace,” said Ms. Hlad. “Our goals are to provide
high quality and cost effective medical care, reduce lost work days by
returning employees to pre-injury health, and to ultimately save costs
in workers’ compensation for our clients.”
For more information on HAPPI, call 724-772-5400.
UPMC Passavant
9100 Babcock Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
412-367-6700
UPMC Passavant Cranberry
One St. Francis Way
Cranberry Township, PA 16066
724-772-5300
For more information or a physician referral, call 1-800-533-UPMC
(8762).
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