AHN Hempfield hospital set for opening, cancer center begins treatments

AHN Hempfield — Neigborhood Hospital is set to open Monday after months of delays related to the state’s licensing process.

The hospital at Route 30 and Agnew Road in Hempfield will start accepting patients at 8 a.m.

Construction of the $30 million micro-hospital wrapped up in the fall and Allegheny Health Network officials have been waiting on a license from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Some signs at the building remained covered Thursday, but the hospital is just about ready for patients.

AHN Cancer Institute — Hempfield at the 120,000-square-foot hospital complex opened to patients Monday. It is outfitted with warm neutral colors and large windows, as well as the latest scientific advancements.

Radiation oncologist Dr. Dennis Ulewicz said the cutting edge technology at the new center is the same that is offered at the health system’s Pittsburgh hospital.

“To have this level of sophistication of services … it’s unusual” in a community hospital, Ulewicz said.

The center puts all of a cancer patient’s needs in one place — radiation oncology in the basement and medical oncology on an upper floor. He said that eliminates a patient’s need to drive to different facilities for treatment.

“The community’s lucky to have this facility here,” he said.

The center, which is connected to the neighborhood hospital, is part of AHN’s $300 million expansion in opening similar facilities around the area. Cancer remains the country’s No. 2 killer, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The hospital has an emergency department and a 10-bed inpatient unit. It does not have operating rooms or a helicopter pad.

Patients will be able to consult with medical staff in a variety of specialties. Between 80 and 90 people are employed at the complex, according to health system officials.

It is the first of four neighborhood hospitals AHN is opening across the region under a partnership with Emerus, a developer and operator of medical facilities. Other neighborhood hospital projects are in McCandless, Brentwood and Harmar.

The Hempfield location is part of a massive $700 million expansion around the Pittsburgh region that includes a 160-bed hospital in Pine and renovations at existing facilities.

The hospital has been in the works since it was approved by township supervisors in December 2017. It became the center of a legal battle in July 2018 after Excela Health — which has a hospital about 3 miles away — questioned plans for the facility. That appeal was denied by a county judge.