Annual board meeting highlights growth at UPMC Horizon and expansion of services

Farrell and Greenville, PA — Joel Yuhas, president of UPMC Horizon, addressed the community at a public annual board meeting highlighting the hospital’s growth and expansion of services to the community over the past year. The board also elected new officers for the coming year.

Frank Mindicino, financial services industry consultant, was elected chairman of the UPMC Horizon board of directors; Joseph P. Walton, CEO of Jamestown Paint Company and Jamestown Powder Coating (Girard, Pa.), was elected vice chairman; and Joseph Simko, president and general manager of Hodge Foundry, Inc., of Greenville was elected secretary/treasurer.

Mr. Yuhas cited many new developments at UPMC Horizon during the past year that led to UPMC Horizon’s growth in market share and recognition as a premier provider of health care services in the region:

• Hospital admissions grew by 3 percent over the prior year with significant growth seen at the Shenango Valley campus by 9 percent. Outpatient services grew by 16 percent over the prior year. Emergency Department visits remained approximately even from the prior year.

• At the Greenville campus, the hospital launched a $6 million surgical services expansion project to meet the community’s need for acute care services.

• The hospital renovated and regionalized its maternity program at the Shenango Valley campus on May 1, 2007. The Birth Place at UPMC Horizon, affiliated with Magee-Women’s Hospital of UPMC, has seen unprecedented growth and support from both Greenville and Shenango Valley communities. Employees have completed clinical rotations at Magee-Women’s Hospital of UPMC to enhance the quality of service at Mercer County’s busiest maternity unit. Mr. Yuhas says he feels the newly regionalized program offered the community unprecedented access to maternal child health services and an overall higher quality maternity “experience” through UPMC Horizon’s ongoing collaboration with Magee.

• In the Greenville community, Glasine Lawson, MD, obstetrics/gynecology, now sees patients at Greenville Medical Center-UPMC, once again offering Greenville access to a female obstetrical provider. UPMC Horizon also welcomed Kelly Palumbo, MD, New Castle, to its obstetrics/gynecology medical staff.

• A formal agreement between Greenville Medical Center and UPMC Community Medicine Incorporated (CMI) was executed this past year. The center is now known as Greenville Medical Center – UPMC. The acquisition of the Greenville Medical Center represented a $2.2 million investment by UPMC in the Greenville community. Mr. Yuhas says he feels that if UPMC had not acquired the Greenville Medical Center, that there would have been a health care crisis in Greenville if the community would have lost physicians.

• After more than four years of service, Dean W. Eckenrode retired as president of UPMC Horizon on January 1. Mr. Yuhas commenced his appointment as president on April 9, 2007.

• At the Womancare Center in Hermitage, UPMC Horizon and Shenango Valley Open MRI unveiled a new open MRI, providing enhanced service to the community. The Womancare Center has continued to see significant growth in imaging studies and focus on medical and surgical subspecialty services.

• The following physicians were welcomed to UPMC Horizon’s active medical staff: Curtis Jantzi, DO, family practice; James Liszewski, MD, family practice; Allen Budek, DO, family practice; Ronald Cramer, DO, gastroenterology; Joseph Frank, MD, pediatrics; Michael Ginsburg, MD, emergency medicine; Michael Millin, DO, occupational medicine; Laura Pesci, MD, pediatrics; Kevin Leonard, MD, radiology; Ameer Shams, MD, family practice; and Philip Lee, DO, internal medicine.

• The UPMC Horizon Bariatric Surgery Center was reaccredited as a Center of Excellence within Health America/Health Assurance’s network of hospital providers in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The bariatric surgery program is based at the Greenville campus but has an additional office in Hermitage and will soon expand to the Shenango Valley campus.

• UPMC Horizon implemented the Stroke Telemedicine Program at both Emergency Departments, providing local physicians instant access to the team of stroke care experts at the UPMC Stroke Center in Pittsburgh. Goals of the program are to provide prompt medical evaluation, and initiate timely treatment to improve outcomes and reduce risks and complications from stroke.

• On July 1, 2007, all UPMC Horizon facilities went “smoke-free,” demonstrating the UPMC system’s commitment to leading the region in developing healthier communities.

• UPMC Horizon opened a comprehensive pain management program through Doctors Pain Clinic at the Shenango Valley campus and at the UPMC Horizon Wellness Center in Greenville. Mr. Yuhas welcomed Tracy Neuendorf, DO; Evelyn Oteng-Bediako, MD; and Trinetta Masternick, DO, to UPMC Horizon’s medical staff.

Mr. Yuhas expressed a bright and strong future for UPMC Horizon as a leading provider of inpatient and outpatient hospital services to Mercer County and surrounding communities. UPMC Horizon’s continued focus on patient safety, high quality medical care and exceptional service have driven its increase in market share and recognition within the community.

Contact: Erin Palko, public relations manager, 724-589-8107