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UPMC Chautauqua celebrates 10th anniversary of merger between UPMC, WCA

UPMC Chautauqua celebrates 10th anniversary of merger between UPMC, WCA

It's been 10 years since the merger of UPMC and the former WCA Hospital – and UPMC Chautauqua officials are looking to the future after spending a day looking back at how far the hospital has come.

Local officials and leadership with UPMC gathered on Thursday to celebrate a decades-long partnership with the former WCA Hospital. UPMC Chautauqua opened its doors back in 1885, originally as a boarding house for young working women, according to its website. It also served as a one room hospital until the incorporation of WCA Hospital in 1907.

Flash forward to today, it now offers 277 beds throughout the hospital, and provides many inpatient and outpatient services to the local community, including on average over 100 people a day in the emergency department.

"We’ve grown considerably. We’ve been seeing on average over 105 patients a day," Tracy Gates said, President of UPMC Chautauqua. "We had a record day, recently just a couple of weeks ago, 157 patients were provided for ... Our ER team is an essential resource in this community."

Primary services offered at UPMC Chautauqua range from general psychiatry, health and disability related support groups, hospitals, medical oncology, pulmonary disease specialty, and other wellness programs.

Many of the services provided today are a reflection of the many years of hard work and planning provided by not only the medical professionals, but also the leadership within the hospital throughout its 141 years of existence.

Just within the past decade, UPMC has invested more than $90 million in capital improvements across UPMC Chautauqua facilities.

"We employ just between 800 to 1,000 people ... we generate $8.1 million dollars a year in community benefit, ” Gates proclaimed. "We also generate over $7 million of discounted or free care to people who can’t afford to pay or who are uninsured, and we generate $305 million dollars in the local economy. When businesses consider investing in a community, they look at more than workforce availability, infrastructure, and schools. They look to make sure there’s access to healthcare. A strong local hospital is essential to not only the health of our residents but also the economic vitality of our community. UPMC remains committed for the long haul to investing in our community."

Some members of the board also applauded everything the organization has accomplished over the past ten years, but emphasized that they can't lose their focus.

"Reflecting on the past 10 years with UPMC is important to look beyond the original agreement and consider what the partnership has meant for our community," board member Brenda Ireland said. "The affiliation represents an opportunity to preserve local access to care while connecting WCA to the resources and expertise of a larger health system. It has offered a way to address the financial pressures facing the hospital while continuing to serve the people of Jamestown and surrounding rural communities. At the time of the agreement, WCA employed 1,400 people, making it a significant contributor to the local workforce and economy. WCA’s affiliation with UPMC also provides an important connection to a broader regional network, including access to specialized services, UPMC Hamot and Erie. For patients in the Jamestown area, the regional connection makes assessing certain levels of specialized care more practical than even driving to Buffalo, maintaining strong local hospital services alongside access to regional specialty care has benefited patients, families, employers, and employees, and the wider community."

County Executive PJ Wendel was in attendance, and he provided some interesting insight on the hospital’s growth throughout the years as he reflected on once being an employee in the Emergency Department.

"It just is such a warming feeling that somebody from outside of the community comes in and gets it and sees it and realizes this is what it’s going to take to leave this hospital in years to come ... The care and the sense of family I felt in this facility is unmatched, and I’m so excited to have this as part of our community," Wendel stated. "The strategic alliance and that partnership that was made. It’s just ... I can’t say enough about it."

The message on the outlook of the facility seemed to strike the same chord with each member of the board.

Gates noted some continued strategic developments that will continue to take place in the future, including an expansion of services and technological integration, as well as continued recruitment efforts for physicians and advanced practice providers to sustain growth in the emergency department and inpatient units.

"If you want to know what’s happening in the next chapter, you’ll hear us working on initiatives to expand telemedicine services in specialties such as neurology, infectious disease, cardiology, palliative care-we’re near ready to activate telemedicine services in dermatology and outpatient infectious disease," Gates claimed.

"We are growing services. We’re strengthening access. We’re investing in quality and working with community partners to address challenges facing America. And most importantly, this is important for this group. I want you to know our doors are open. We want to hear from you. We want to understand the needs of our community. We want to be part of the solutions. A strong hospital helps us build a strong community, and that is what we will achieve in the next 10 years."