PITTSBURGH, Sept. 21, 2017 – In a move that will expand advanced cancer services and other specialized treatments to patients in central and southern Italy, UPMC announced today that it is making a strategic investment in Salvator Mundi International Hospital, a well-respected private facility near Rome’s city center. UPMC now owns a 50 percent stake in Salvator Mundi, with the rest held by the current hospital operator, Rome International Hospital Management Srl (RIHM).

 

“Given UPMC’s long-standing and successful operations in Italy, we are excited about partnering with RIHM to bring more high-quality services to patients who currently are underserved by both private and public health care providers,” said Charles Bogosta, president of UPMC International. “Our strategic investment in Salvator Mundi International ensures that this partnership will promote our mission of giving patients the best possible care close to home.”

 

Under the leadership of Michele Casciani, who is now chief executive officer of the hospital, Salvator Mundi has successfully revitalized the facility’s operations and finances in recent years, annually drawing about 2,400 admissions and performing about 3,000 surgeries and procedures. UPMC will lead the clinical operations of the 75-bed hospital, including designation of the medical director and chief operating officer.

 

“Backed by the deep clinical, operational and financial resources of UPMC, we look forward to offering our patients the most advanced medical and surgical oncology services, as well as highly specialized treatments in neurosurgery, interventional radiology and minimally invasive thoracic surgery,” said Casciani. “This partnership creates a model for private health care in Italy and the Mediterranean region, one based on clinical excellence and state-of-the-art technologies and processes.” 

 

Salvator Mundi International is expected to benefit from efficiencies with UPMC’s other Italian operations, including radiotherapy center UPMC San Pietro FBF in Rome, transplant hospital ISMETT in Palermo, the UPMC Institute for Health at the Terme di Chianciano Spa in Chianciano Terme, an outpatient diagnostic and wellness center, and the planned Biomedical Research and Biotechnology Center in Carini. With UPMC’s assistance, Salvator Mundi also aims to achieve Joint Commission International accreditation, enhancing its reputation for high quality, just as UPMC-owned or affiliated facilities have already done in Italy, Ireland and China.

 

Founded in 1951, Salvator Mundi International was managed by the Sisters of the Divine Savior, an Italian Roman Catholic congregation, until 2012. Operated since that time by RIHM, the hospital has modernized facilities and expanded its base of more than 350 independent physicians, offering a wide range of services in general medicine, surgery, urology, orthopaedics, gynecology, gastroenterology, radiology and other service lines.