Children’s outpatient services moving to South Fayette
The new Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC location in South Fayette will conduct outpatient, primary care and after-hours care.
Kathy Guatteri, vice president of outpatient services at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, takes media on a tour of the new Children’s South Fayette location. The facility sits on 2.6 acres and has 60,000 square feet of space.
UPMC plans to move its outpatient pediatric health-care services from Bethel Park to South Fayette by the end of September.
The new Children’s Hospital South, located at 100 Hickory Grade Road, will be near the Interstate 79-Route 50 interchange – a location UPMC hopes will benefit young patients.
“We had a significant amount of growth at our Bethel Park hospital. We’ve been out of space for over the past three years,” said Kathy Guatteri, vice president of outpatient services.
“And patients and their families can now come here instead of driving to Lawrenceville for imaging, MRI, bloodwork, but surgery will still be done at one of our Pittsburgh hospitals.”
Guatteri said UPMC is looking to open the $24 million hospital, which will feature new behavioral health treatments, Sept. 29.
“We’re trying to destigmatize psychological care,” she said. “If you’re here for physical therapy, you’re sitting in the same waiting room as someone here for the first time, or someone joining others for a group rehabilitation or behavioral session.”
Doctors can expect to see 70,000 patients in their first year, said Dr. Andrew Urbach, associate chief medical officer,
“This facility can actually treat 100,000 in a year, and it will feature everything that had patients going to Pittsburgh for,” he said. “There’s a new cochlear implant treatment center here, for those beyond a hearing aid … speech and group therapy. This is full service – basically a mini-Children’s hospital for everything up to, but not including, surgery.”
Emergency and minor surgeries can take place at the new hospital, Urbach said the focus will still be primary care and express care.
“Hours will be 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., with express and emergency care open on weekends,” Urbach said. “But for parents, this is no longer an entire workday to get diagnostics done in Pittsburgh. You can be out of here in 45 minutes.”