5/11/1998

PITTSBURGH, May 11, 1998 — University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has joined with Bidwell Training Center/Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild (BTC/MCG) in a multi-faceted partnership that includes a $3 million lead gift to the newly formed Manchester Bidwell Development Trust, announced William E. Strickland, Jr., president and chief executive officer of BTC/MCG at a news conference today.

For more than two decades, BTC/MCG has forged partnerships with corporations, foundations and public entities to support its nationally recognized array of educational, training and cultural programs targeted toward disadvantaged youth and unemployed adults. This partnership with University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is its most comprehensive to date.

"This developing relationship between Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild/Bidwell Training Center and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center symbolizes the future for non-profits. This new partnership represents the most articulate and highest form of social entrepreneurship and will serve as a model for other communities around the country. It’s a relationship that looks toward the millennium and can only be accomplished by having premiere institutions on both sides," stated Strickland.

"The visionary leadership of William Strickland has rightly received national acclaim. He believes that high quality programs, strengthened through partnerships, build healthy lives and healthy communities and this conviction resonates with the philosophy of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center," stated Jeffrey Romoff, president of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

"To reach our corporate goals, UPMC partners with organizations that excel in their particular field of expertise and are considered true leaders. Among our corporate goals is the commitment to strengthen the communities we serve. To achieve this goal, there could be no better partner than the BTC/MCG," continued Romoff.

There are four initial components of this partnership. The first component involves strengthening and stabilizing communities in distress through replication of the proven training and cultural programs of BTC/MCG. Aliquippa and Braddock, two communities served by University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, are targeted for pilot programs.

The second component of the partnership is the development of Bidwell job training programs to meet University of Pittsburgh Medical Center employment needs, requirements and standards. The first employment initiative is underway with training and placement activities in the fields of medical coding and transcription.

To ensure the continuation and expansion of these programs, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has committed $3 million as the lead gift toward the establishment of the Manchester Bidwell Development Trust. This challenge grant toward a projected $10 million endowment is expected to be matched by local and national foundations.

Finally, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center will bring its presence and vision to the new Harbor Gardens office building as its anchor tenant. Harbor Gardens, a 70,000 square foot office building, is the second phase of growth for the Bidwell Training Center. UPMC will occupy 30,000 square feet of the building. This space will be used for administrative offices and a wellness center which will serve the Pittsburgh community, as well as students and faculty of Bidwell and Manchester. This facility will be a prototype for similar wellness and education/training centers that could be created by this partnership. Ground-breaking for Harbor Gardens is expected this summer.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is the leading integrated delivery system for health care in Western Pennsylvania offering a full range of high quality, geographically convenient health care services to all citizens of the region.

Founded in the 1960s, Bidwell and Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild have developed an array of educational, training and cultural programs that have become national models drawing support and recognition from foundations and cities across the country.