UPMC Specialty Hospital Fast Facts

UPMC provides individualized care to its patients at three existing and three forthcoming specialty hospitals. Learn more about some of the many milestone achievements and unique programs housed at these facilities, all of which contribute to making UPMC a world-class destination for health care.

UPMC Vision and Rehabilitation Hospital at UPMC Mercy

• Home of the UPMC Eye Center, directed by a world-renowned expert in vision therapies and developer of interventions, such as stem cell implantation, gene therapy, innovative pharmacologic approaches and the artificial retina.
• Leading research initiatives for vision restoration techniques, including age-related macular degeneration.
• Ranked one of the top ophthalmology programs in the U.S. by Ophthalmology Times for delivery of patient care.
• World-class ophthalmologists available to patients outside of Pittsburgh with real-time image transmission and video display through UPMC’s teleophthalmology program.
• Largest rehabilitation network in western Pennsylvania, and one of the largest in the U.S., treating 4,678 inpatients and 72,000 outpatients in the past year.
• Rehabilitation outcomes consistently better than national averages in the areas of patient independence, efficiency and discharge to the community.
• Implementing innovative early mobility initiatives for ICU patients to reduce the risk of delirium, muscle loss, ventilator-associated pneumonia and psychological distress.
• Clinical research to enable individuals with severe spinal cord injuries to control robotic arms with the brain and re-experience the sense of touch with brain-computer interfaces.
• Leading groundbreaking rehabilitation efforts for cancer patients, who need interdisciplinary rehabilitation because of the cancer itself or the treatment. 

 

UPMC Heart and Transplant Hospital at UPMC Presbyterian

• Home of Thomas E. Starzl, M.D., the “father of transplantation,” and these transplant firsts:
• World’s first pediatric heart-liver transplant: 1984
• World’s first heart-liver-kidney transplant: 1989
• First medical center to discharge a patient on a ventricular assist device: 1990
• Performed more than 20,000 total transplants and over 2,000 lung transplants, the most of any lung transplant program in the U.S.
• One of the most experienced liver transplant programs in the country and a leader in living-donor liver transplantation.
• Nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report for cardiology and heart surgery for more than 10 years.
• Location of the nation’s first LIVE (Less Invasive Ventricular Enhancement) surgery to repair the heart after severe heart attacks.
• Second center in the world to surpass 3,000 cardiothoracic transplants.
• One of only a few programs in the country with heart transplant recipients now nearing or beyond 30-years post-transplant.

 

UPMC Hillman Cancer Hospital at UPMC Shadyside

• Consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best cancer programs in America.
• The only nationally ranked cancer program in the region, and the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the region.
• Among the largest integrated community cancer networks in the U.S., providing world-class care and clinical research to more than 110,000 patients a year at over 60 locations.
• Allows patients to begin treatment plans and receive follow-up care after surgery in their own communities thanks to the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center network.
• Where patients seek comprehensive care, second opinions and clinical trials on rare cancers and the most challenging medical cases.
• Employs the latest innovative technologies, including intensity-modulated radiation therapy, treatments using RapidArc®, TrueBeam™ STx, CyberKnife®M6™ and PET–CT planning, which was pioneered by UPMC physicians.

 

UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh 

• Served patients and families from all 50 states and 50+ countries in the past five years with advanced specialty care.
• Nation’s first pediatric transplant center, performing more than 3,300 transplants.
• Heart Institute has one of the lowest overall four-year surgical mortality rates in the nation among all high-volume programs, with a mortality rate under 2 percent.
• Heart Institute awarded a 3-Star rating by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (2012-2016), one of only 11 programs to receive this distinction.
• First pediatric hospital in the nation recognized by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society for its early adoption of electronic health records and technology to improve patient outcomes.
• Telemedicine consultation and care management programs provided globally with hospitals in Brazil, Colombia and Serbia, and nationally in Florida and Virginia.

 

UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital

• Specialized expertise in women’s health across the lifespan, including prenatal and postnatal health, mid-life and menopausal services, and end-of-life care.
• One of the busiest obstetrics programs in the country, with nearly 10,000 babies born each year.
• Treats more than 1,500 seriously or critically ill babies each year in the highest volume neonatal intensive care unit in Pennsylvania and one of the largest in the country.
• Collaborates with Magee-Womens Research Institute, the largest research institute in the U.S. devoted exclusively to women’s health research.
• One of the first teaching facilities recognized as a National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
• Offers women comprehensive and compassionate outpatient care for opioid addiction in a first-of-its-kind Women’s Recovery Center.
• One of the busiest clinical sites in the country for women’s cancer including nurses, doctors and support programs all focused on women’s cancer.
• Blend of clinical expertise and innovative research dedicated to breast cancer prevention and treatment ensures patients receive the most comprehensive breast care available.

 

UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital

• A top-ranking hospital for psychiatric care and leading recipient of funding from the National Institute of Health for psychiatry research.
• Only Center for Interventional Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Intensive Care Unit in the region.
• Award-winning specialty programs in child and adolescent bipolar disorders and adolescent suicide prevention.
• Nationally recognized by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for LGBTQ health care equality. 
• National pace-setter in the integration of behavioral health services in medical clinics.
• Centers for excellence in the diagnosis and treatment of addiction disorders.
• Ranked in the top 10 psychiatry resident training programs in the nation and leading clinical psychology internship program in the country.
• One of the nation’s first and largest academic-affiliated telepsychiatry programs, averaging more than 12,000 consults a year.