ERIE, Pa., Oct. 19, 2017 – Earlier this evening, UPMC Hamot hosted its annual dinner and community meeting to celebrate its successes and highlight the many ways that the hospital has broken new ground this year as it continues to be the area’s leading health care provider. In attendance were more than 250 individuals, including members of the UPMC Hamot Board of Directors, physicians, staff and volunteers, Hamot Health Foundation trustees and corporators, regional health care partners, patients and community leaders.

 

UPMC Hamot President David Gibbons offered an overview of the innovative developments that have enhanced patient care and expanded the number of services available locally. “Our groundbreaking accomplishments make UPMC Hamot the only hospital to bring world-class care to northwestern Pennsylvania.”

 

“We had our most successful year, reflecting our strength and ability to provide the highest quality of care right here in Erie,” Gibbons said. “We are breaking new ground for our regional hospitals with new affiliations and for our community with collaborations with our downtown neighbors to transform our local neighborhoods.”

 

Gibbons said that patient access to UPMC Hamot services remained high last year, including a record 28,200 inpatient and observation visits, 79,700 emergency department visits, 2,300 births, nearly 12,900 surgeries, and more than 245,000 primary care visits. In addition, UPMC Hamot provided more than $22 million in benefits to the community, including $12.2 million in free and reduced-cost care to the area’s most vulnerable citizens.

 

Highlights for UPMC Hamot from the past year included:

 

• Recognition by U.S. News & World Report, ranking UPMC Hamot in the top 4.4 percent of Pennsylvania hospitals at the number nine spot in their list of best regional hospitals.

 

• UPMC has increased employment in Erie County by 600 since 2011, bringing total employment to over 4,100.

 

• The record-breaking recruitment of 43 new physicians.

 

• The Eagle’s Nest program has benefitted its 80 graduates and their families and has helped UPMC Hamot become as diverse as Erie County with an increase in minority employees to 12 percent, up from less than eight percent five years ago.

 

• The emergency and trauma teams earned the prestigious 2017 Lantern Award from the Emergency Nurses Association, being one of just 22 hospitals across the country that earned Lantern awards this year.

 

• UPMC Hamot’s advanced primary stroke center, the only center in the region to offer around-the-clock stroke coverage that includes minimally invasive endovascular therapy every day of the year, received special recognition from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

 

• The new Magee-Women’s Specialty Center significantly increased access to personalized and highly specialized ob-gyn care for women throughout the area. The Center has three locations and added five new caregivers to its staff this year; now 11 physicians and 4 advanced practice providers dedicated to caring for women in our community.

 

• A new intraoperative CT scanner is an example of advanced technology supporting specialty care. It provides real-time, diagnostic-quality images right in the operating room, increasing the patient’s safety during a procedure.

 

• UPMC Hamot is the first hospital in the region to perform kidney transplants.

 

• Recent affiliations in Kane, Pa., and Jamestown, N.Y., enable patients in regional communities to benefit from the collaborative care that distinguishes both UPMC Hamot and the UPMC system.

 

• Project 20/20, the most significant undertaking in Hamot’s history, includes seven stories, 177,000 square feet of space, 64 new ICU beds, and a substantial expansion of diagnostic imaging. The $111 million project brings UPMC’s total investment in Hamot to $300 million since 2011.

 

“More than a facility, this is the realization of a vision and of our promise to deliver outstanding care to our region,” Gibbons said. “We are proud to be breaking new ground, literally and figuratively, for a healthy future for our patients and our entire community.”