9/25/2018

Introducing new UPMC Magee-Womens Specialty Services OB-GYN office in Huntingdon, and welcoming Ralph Aldinger, D.O., Diane Adams, D.O., and Romona Shope, C.R.N.P.

ALTOONA, Pa., Sept. 25, 2018 – In response to recent changes announced publicly by Broad Top Area Medical Center and J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital to discontinue their prenatal and postnatal office services and childbirth deliveries performed in Huntingdon County, starting on November 7, childbirth deliveries by Ralph Aldinger, D.O., and Diane Adams, D.O., will relocate to UPMC Altoona. Aldinger, Adams, and Romona Shope, C.R.N.P., will join UPMC Magee-Womens Specialty Services as of November 7, maintaining local office services in Huntingdon for pre-and post-natal care, as well as other obstetrics and gynecology services.

UPMC Altoona’s regional childbirth delivery center is affiliated with UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, one of the leading women’s hospitals in the country.

“When we learned of the changes being made to obstetrical services in Huntingdon, we knew this was an opportunity for UPMC to provide a solution,” said Jerry Murray, president, UPMC Altoona and UPMC Bedford. “Now the same OB-GYN doctors and care teams - Drs. Aldinger and Adams, and nurse practitioner, Romona Shope - can continue caring for patients in their Huntingdon office. Our regional childbirth delivery center at UPMC Altoona is staffed and ready to welcome Drs. Aldinger’s and Adams’ patients for their labor and delivery and hospital stays.”

Murray continued, “We’re pleased to keep frequently-used and essential prenatal and postnatal office services in Huntingdon and give moms, babies, and families access to the outstanding care and services our teams provide at UPMC Altoona.”

UPMC Altoona’s childbirth delivery center is equipped with a full complement of OB-GYN physicians and certified nurse-midwives, 24-7 anesthesia service, a Level II Nursery with live telemedicine connectivity to neonatologists at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, on-site lactation consulting, and a maternal-fetal telemedicine program for high-risk pregnancies connecting patients with the experts at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital.

“These are enhanced services that cannot be duplicated by lower-volume delivery centers,” said Murray. “We continually invest in our facilities, programs, and people to provide exceptional care and experiences.”

J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital recently announced to the public the closure of its maternity unit, citing financial challenges and low patient volume on the heels of Broad Top Area Medical Center’s announced displacement of Aldinger, Adams and Shope from its practice.

“Amidst these changes affecting obstetrical care and childbirth delivery services in the region, UPMC is ensuring Huntingdon area patients maintain local access to high-quality obstetrical care and advanced childbirth delivery services,” said Murray.

Patients under the care of Aldinger, Adams and Shope will continue to see their provider in the same location, located inside J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital. Beginning November 7, the office will be named UPMC Magee-Womens Specialty Services.

Early next year, UPMC Magee-Womens Specialty Services will relocate a few minutes down the road to a fully renovated suite inside the Home Nursing Agency building, part of UPMC, in Huntingdon. Aldinger, Adams and Shope will join providers of complementary services at this location, creating a primary care destination for OB-GYN services, primary care, and diagnostics.

“Our new suite will offer the latest amenities and services to provide high-quality prenatal, postnatal, and gynecology care,” said Wendy Kalocay, assistant executive administrator, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Services, UPMC. “Our compassionate, experienced staff, who patients know and trust, look forward to continuing to care for women in Huntingdon.”

Kalocay added, “We look forward to continually expanding progressive services capabilities in our Huntingdon office, such as advanced ultrasound technology and telemedicine connectivity with subspecialty care, like gestational diabetes education and treatment through certified diabetes educators at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital.”

Patients will not experience an interruption to their care. Deliveries by Aldinger and Adams for patients who arrive on and before November 6, at 11:59 p.m., will be performed at J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital. The doctors’ deliveries beginning November 7, will be performed at UPMC Altoona.

As a high-volume, fully staffed regional childbirth delivery center, UPMC Altoona is equipped to care for more patients, including those experiencing high-risk pregnancies. Its Level II Nursery and neonatology services through UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital extend local access to UPMC’s world-class care.