Washington Hospital has evolved into a fully integrated health system including diagnostic centers, outpatient care facilities, Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center, Greenbriar Treatment Center, urgent care and hospice facilities.  Employing more than 2,000 highly trained professionals, the health system also provides services at more than 40 off-site locations throughout three counties. 

The COVID-19 pandemic caused major operational and financial disruptions felt everywhere.  An American Hospital Association headline reads “Hospitals face worst year financially since start of COVID-19 pandemic, jeopardizing access to patient care” (aha.org, 2022).  Higher operating expenses for necessary supplies, labor shortages, and escalating labor costs are just a few of the burdens adding strain to these systems. Hospitals are seeing more red than black. 

Washington Health System’s mission statement “To provide great patient care” to the community like they have for more than 125 years was challenged and uncertain looking to the future.  “The Board and senior leadership of WHS have realized, that in today’s health care environment, we need to consider the long-term stability of our health system to continue to provide the quality health care services our local residents have come to expect. With that goal, we are excited to be able to affiliate with UPMC, a premier integrated health care system, to continue our mission of Great Patient Care,” said Dan Miller, Chairman of WHS Board of Directors.

The Boards of Directors of both Washington Health System (WHS) and UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) have signed a non-binding letter of intent to negotiate an affiliation agreement between the two entities that would integrate WHS into the UPMC system. The WHS Board of Directors met on June 1, 2023, and unanimously voted to pursue affiliation discussions with UPMC, a clinically integrated and world-renowned nonprofit health care provider and insurer.  “Our primary focus is to ensure the residents of Washington and Greene Counties have local access to high-quality health care that is sustainable into the future,” said Brook Ward, President and CEO of WHS. “After careful consideration and analysis, we believe the best path forward is to affiliate with UPMC to achieve that goal. We currently have numerous clinical arrangements and joint ventures with UPMC, which have provided our patients with exceptional care over the years. From our experience working with UPMC and knowing their track record of providing outstanding patient care, it was an obvious choice to select UPMC as our partner going forward.”

WHS and UPMC have collaborated in the past to provide and expand on the availability of services with the changing needs and growth of the community-

• A partnership with UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and base at WHS Washington Hospital. This has brought cutting-edge cancer expertise and treatment to the area while eliminating the inconvenience of traveling for care.
• UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Express Care clinic and other specialty clinics, also on the campus of WHS Washington Hospital. These have brought specialty pediatric services to the community.
• UPMC’s Heart and Vascular Institute (HVI) provides vascular surgery services.
• Onsite neonatal care provided at every birth by UPMC Children’s Hospital.
• Senior care services provided at Strabane Trails and Strabane Woods.
• OB ultrasounds interpretation services by UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital.

With any change comes fear of the unknown.  There are many benefits to this affiliation for our patients, providers, community, and WHS team.  One benefit is likely increased access to patient health records for patients and their providers through the UPMC portal once the transition is complete. Sharing records across health systems for continued patient care is not a one step process and often has it’s challenges due to protecting information and avoiding HIPPA violations.  The WHS Foundation would be able to give money and support local nonprofits not competing with UPMC within Washington and Greene counties outside of the WHS organization.

A low buzz of anxiety and uneasiness can be felt when the WHS and UPMC merger is brought up.  It’s the unanswered questions and the uncertainness of whether the job that you’ve walked into maybe for 5, 10, or 20+ years might not look the same next year.  The idea of too much change with too little information can make people look for ways to fill in the gaps and often hear information that isn’t true and mistake rumor for fact.  To limit disruption to the workforce during this transition, the WHS administration has regularly scheduled Town Hall Meetings – UPMC Affiliation Employee Updates.  At the December 28th meeting I heard statements that claimed I would receive my current pay and benefits or better; not less.  UPMC is planning on hiring everyone employed so “if you want a job, you’ll have it!” The forum was very open to employees asking any questions and administration doing their best to answer them.  Sometimes that answer was “we don’t know what that’ll look like down the road”. 

I’m not sure what my job will look like next year or 5 years from now.  I’ve been employed at The Washington Hospital for over 15 years and I know it’s not a guarantee that my position or employment will remain.  I do know that it’s not about me.  Yes, employees are one of the cogs in the wheel that make this system work day after day.  Washington Health System has a commitment to the communities that they have served and supported.  WHS made a decision they believe will keep their doors open to continue to provide the communities we serve with exceptional health care services.

The affiliation between Washington Health System and UPMC is to save jobs, increase healthcare access, and keep healthcare locally available for future generations.  Let the Attorney General and your elected officials know that you support the affiliation by signing this petition.