Horizon, Jameson transforming in health industry, president says

Jan. 24--NEW CASTLE -- Don Owrey sees the future of medicine and it is all about finding the sweet spot -- providing the best, most cost-effective care close to home.

But while the regional approach the president outlined in a press conference in advance of Tuesday's UPMC Jameson board meeting will mean that some facilities in the health care system might look different, that doesn't mean patient care will change.

It will be better, said Owrey, who oversees UPMC Jameson in New Castle and UPMC Horizon in Farrell and Greenville.

And it also doesn't mean that UPMC Horizon in Greenville will be closing either.

"We are not going anywhere," he said.

Owrey said the community hospitals he runs and the health system that he works for have the same goal -- to give patients access to the best care possible while allowing them to stay close to home.

And that means changing how care is provided -- from focusing on outpatient rather than inpatient care to using technology to connect patients to doctors anywhere in the UPMC system.

And, Owrey said, UPMC is leading the way.

While he acknowledged that there have been changes in how care is delivered, the bottom line is that shifting resources and congregating services offer patients more specialized, more state-of-the-art and better care, while allowing local hospitals to use their resources cost-effectively.

"Jameson and Horizon are working together to improve health care for the region," Owrey said.

Community hospitals are facing challenges, he said.

From the difficulty in finding and retaining staff to trying to keep budgets in the black as costs and requirements shift, Owrey said change is inevitable.

So, he said, that means looking closely at everything from space utilization, which programs can be consolidated and moved into one, comprehensive regional center, as well as technology that can connect patients to any member of the UPMC team.

Greenville's hospital is one of those places where older facilities will get a new purpose. Currently, 40 percent of the hospital space is unused, he acknowledged, which is not unusual in a community hospital.

"But if you go from Pittsburgh to Erie, you're going to see empty units or units that have been closed,'' Owrey said

That's why UPMC continues to explore ways Horizon and Jameson can offer shared services.

Jameson closed its birthing unit in 2015 while waiting for its merger with UPMC to be approved by the state Attorney General's office. The move, combined with the closure of Ellwood City Hospital's obstetrics unit two years earlier, left Lawrence County without a hospital neonatal facility.

After the Jameson-UPMC merger was finalized in 2016, administrators decided to have UPMC Horizon provide obstetrics services for the region, instead of reopening Jameson's facilities.

Having one site for births allows Horizon to effectively use its staff. Obstetricians and gynecologists are getting harder to find, and maintaining the specialized equipment and resources necessary to a maternity unit is expensive, Owrey said.

Change wasn't easy, but it is working well, offering patients better facilities and care.

"We have had 1,100 births," Owrey said. "(Creating the birthing center) has enabled us to make investments that standing alone we would have never been able to make."

A shared anesthesia group, an infectious disease physician, adding six orthopedic surgeons and six general surgeons for each hospital system are even more examples of how UPMC Jameson and Horizon are using the regional approach to improve care, Owrey said.

He added that the hospitals also are actively recruiting more physicians.

Terms of the deal for Jameson merging into UPMC on May 1, 2016, require UPMC to invest $75 million to develop services and facilities in Lawrence County. Also, it has to provide an additional $10 million dedicated to physician recruitment for expansion of clinical advancements in the region.

Horizon merged into UPMC in 1998.

Jameson is undergoing a $10 million upgrade, which includes improvements to its heart catheterization center and a newly renovated one-stop shop for cardiovascular care. Patients can get tests, do lab work and see their doctors.

Steve Warner, chairman of the UPMC Horizon and UPMC Jameson board of directors, was on hand when Jameson decided to merge with UPMC. He has no regrets.

"UPMC has been a wonderful, wonderful change in the community,'' Warner said. "They've made a huge investment here and at Horizon.''

Owrey agreed.

"The thing about UPMC is that it has fulfilled every promise," he said.

He added that patients will see even more exciting changes in the months to come.

"We will continue to lead the way," Owrey said.

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