Officials from Grove City Medical Center, Allegheny Health Network (AHN) and Highmark Health joined community leaders and hospital employees this past August to celebrate the signing of an affiliation agreement that will strengthen and expand the services that Grove City provides to residents of Mercer County and the surrounding region.
Pending government approval of the merger, the organizations expect to close on the affiliation early in 2020, establishing Grove City as AHN’s ninth owned hospital and as a critical new network access point for high-quality acute care services between Pittsburgh and Erie.
“Today is a great day for Grove City and Mercer County, and an important milestone for Grove City Medical Center as we embark upon the next chapter in our organization’s long history of service to this community,” says Timothy R. Bonner, chairman of the hospital’s board of directors. “AHN and Highmark Health are committed to getting health care right, and we look forward to being part of the incredible work they are doing to provide the people of our region with the high-quality, high-value health services that they deserve.“
As part of the affiliation agreement, AHN and GCMC will help to fund a new independent Grove City Health Care Foundation with an initial endowment of up to $30 million to be spent locally in Grove City on health and wellness initiatives. A local board, made up primarily of current GCMC board members, will determine how those resources are allocated. AHN will also invest an additional $40 million over the next 10 years to further enhance GCMC’s clinical programs, technological capabilities and physical infrastructure.
AHN will add or enhance a host of clinical services at GCMC, including primary care, neurology, oncology, cardiology, behavioral health, orthopedics, pediatrics and general surgery. The network will also expand telehealth services at the hospital to include tele-dermatology, tele-stroke and autoimmune consultations, and install the Epic electronic health record system at both Grove City’s main campus and its satellite facilities. AHN is the largest health care network in western Pennsylvania with a singular integrated electronic health record across its many sites of care.
Together with Highmark, AHN has invested more than $1.5 billion over the past five years to improve access to care in communities across the greater western Pennsylvania region, including the construction of community cancer centers, new neighborhood hospitals and outpatient facilities, and the expansion and enhancement of capabilities and services at its existing hospitals. Residents of the Grove City region have received their medical care by AHN physicians for many years, both through close-to-home services in the community and seamless transition to Allegheny General Hospital for higher level care when needed.
“At Allegheny Health Network, we place immense value on the essential role that community hospitals and other community-based resources play in the overall quality of a region’s health care delivery system,” says Cynthia Hundorfean, AHN president and CEO. “Grove City Medical Center provides outstanding care and services to the Mercer County region, and we look forward to working with the hospital’s many talented and dedicated caregivers to assure that tradition only grows stronger in the months, years and decades ahead.”
