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Oct 16, 2009 6:40 pm US/Eastern
Onorato: UPMC Braddock Closure "Unacceptable"
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato says UPMC's decision to close its hospital in Braddock left him shocked and disappointed.
UPMC officials announced today that its Braddock hospital, which employs more than 600 people and sees thousands of patients a year, will close at the end of January.
Calling the announcement unacceptable, Onorato has called for an emergency meeting next week with Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Congressman Mike Doyle and State Senator Sean Logan to address the issue.
UPMC says it put $60 million into the hospital since it took over in 1996, but admissions declined by 21-percent in recent years and the hospital absorbed $27 million in losses over the past six years.
Braddock Mayor John Fetterman says he's disappointed by the news.
"I would place the blame for this facility closure squarely at the feet of the current state of health care in this country," Fetterman told KDKA, "where based on these rules, the way it's set up, you have to pick winners and you have to pick losers; and we in Braddock didn't do very well today with this announcement."
Diane McKivitz has worked at UPMC Braddock for seven years. She says she isn't happy with the way she and her co-workers found out that their jobs were in jeopardy.
Some employees found out by watching KDKA-TV News at 11:00pm last night; others got the news when they showed up for work this morning.
"I'm quite sure those people that's been here 20-, 30-years – I mean they owe the courtesy to those people to not find out on the news at 11-o'clock," McKivitz added. "That's what's upsetting."
While the building has undergone some recent renovations, the hospital says a $3 million redevelopment assistance grant from the state will not be used.
UPMC says some outpatient services will remain – including Steps to a Healthy Community and its dental program.
The hospital plans to begin moving its clinical operations to other UPMC facilities starting next month.
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