State licensing process delays opening of Hempfield hospital
Almost two months after officials held a grand opening ceremony for one of the region’s first “micro-hospitals,” doors to the new facility remain closed.
The 120,000-square-foot Allegheny Health Network Hempfield Neighborhood Hospital, located at Route 30 and Angew Road, was slated to open in the weeks following the Nov. 9 ceremony. Now, AHN officials say it could open within the next few weeks.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health’s licensing process is the cause for delay, according to AHN spokesperson Candace Herrington.
“This process entails multiple steps — many of which have been completed,” Herrington said. “We expect the hospital to open in the coming weeks, however, we do not have a specific date at this time.”
The hospital will bring a 10-bed inpatient unit, diagnostic imaging, a laboratory, cancer unit, an emergency department — a top priority for hospital officials — and other complementary medical services to the area. The cancer unit, which was slated to open in early January, will not open until the end of the month, Herrington said.
While the hospital will not have operating rooms or a helicopter pad, patients will be able to consult with specialists for neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, thoracic surgery, cardiology, general and breast surgery and women’s subspecialities.
Between 80 and 90 people will be employed at the hospital, AHN spokesperson Dan Laurent said. As they wait for the facility to open, they are continuing training in protocols, procedures and clinical systems as well as participating in team building activities, he said. Others are working at various AHN 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 three miles away — contended AHN is “trying to put a size 12 (foot) into a size 9 boot” by proposing the facility on a property without enough parking or stormwater mitigation, and without studying the impact it would have on traffic.
At the time, township Solicitor Scott Avolio said Hempfield had gone through the usual process for approving major projects, including traffic and stormwater considerations.
Excela’s appeal was denied by a county judge.
The Hempfield location is one of four AHN plans for the Pittsburgh area as part of a massive $700 million expansion. Other neighborhood hospitals are being built in McCandless and Brentwood, which are slated to open in the next couple of months.
Another neighborhood hospital, located at Guys Run Road and Freeport Road in Harmar, is expected to open in the fall. The location has had a myriad of issues since its October 2018 groundbreaking, centered around leasing and land agreements.
AHN also is planning a 160-bed, state-of-the-art hospital in Pine, along with renovating existing hospitals throughout Western Pennsylvania.
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