​Hospital President Reviews 2012 Accomplishments at Annual Meeting

FARRELL AND GREENVILLE, August 22, 2012– Don Owrey, UPMC Horizon president, presented the hospital’s fiscal year 2012 accomplishments to the UPMC Horizon board of directors during the board’s annual meeting Aug. 21.

Despite ongoing challenges in the local economy, uncertainties surrounding health care reform, and increased pressure from payers to improve quality and reduce costs, the hospital experienced one of its best years on record.

“Those results,” said Mr. Owrey, “are the product of a dedicated and committed staff of physicians and employees.”

Patient care management continued to evolve during the past year with expansion of the hospital’s electronic medical record, implementation of the electronic medical record in community physician practices, and further expansion of the hospitalist program. 

With continued emphasis on quality and patient satisfaction, the hospital built on a number of initiatives including improving handoff coordination and bedside reporting, noise reduction in patient care units, and increasing the responsiveness of all hospital staff to patient needs.  These efforts resulted in the hospital meeting or exceeding state and national averages for Medicare Core Measures, reductions in hospital acquired infections and patient falls, and improved patient satisfaction scores.

Other accomplishments in fiscal year 2012 included:

• The recruitment of ten new physicians to the medical staff, including three family practice physicians, one internal medicine physician, two anesthesiologists, an emergency medicine physician, a pulmonologist, an endocrinologist, and a radiation oncologist.
• The integration of four private practice groups (otolaryngology, obstetrics/gynecology, urology, and gastroenterology) into hospital-owned practices.
• The introduction of several new telemedicine services, including pediatric emergency medicine and neonatal intensive care with Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.
• The achievement of reaching the maximum incentive level in the Highmark QualityBLUE program.
• Recognition by the Joint Commission as a top performer on key quality measures and the Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania for efforts related to hospital acquired c difficile prevention.
• Five-year accreditation of the family practice graduate medical education program by the American Osteopathic Association.
• The opening of UPMC Urgent Care at Hermitage, which sees more than 400 patients per week.
• The introduction of prostate brachytherapy services at the UPMC CancerCenter at UPMC Horizon.
• The investment of $9 million in new equipment and infrastructure, including various new radiology equipment, anesthesia and operating room equipment, laboratory equipment, and facilities renovations.

The hospital’s financial performance reflected continued improvement, with emergency room utilization, surgical services, and outpatient care showing modest growth over the prior year. The hospital finished with a 6 percent operating margin on revenues in excess of $140 million.

Although challenges remain for all hospitals as patient care models and payment methods evolve, Mr. Owrey remains optimistic about the hospital’s future.

 “This was a successful year on so many fronts, but we realize the challenges that are ahead. We have to find innovative ways to deliver better care more affordably and make it more accessible to everyone. This is the challenge for all hospitals and I believe UPMC Horizon is positioned to achieve that.” Mr. Owrey said.