Pittsburgh-based UPMC continues to move forward with long-term plans to build a five-hospital network in China.
In June, UPMC and Wanda Group reached a 20-year agreement to partner to build the first hospital in a joint network. They publicly announced the partnership in October.
Now, eight months into the partnership, a travel ban between the U.S. and China amid the coronavirus outbreak isn't affecting their long-term plans, said Chuck Bogosta, president of UPMC International, who spoke to Becker's Hospital Review from Rome.
"We've been in communication with [Wanda] daily, sometimes hourly, and there's been no indication that there will be any delays," he said. "We think this is a bigger opportunity than ever because it shows how our healthcare expertise can improve the country's ability to react to these issues [like coronavirus]."
The first hospital is expected to break ground in April or May in Chengdu, about 750 miles from Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak started in December. UPMC and Wanda expect to open the facility in 2022.
Mr. Bogosta said the 500-bed acute care hospital will "be designed with traditional modern international hospital specifications." It will have space to treat infectious diseases as well as centers of excellence for oncology, orthopedics, neurosciences, heart and vascular, digestive disorders and ophthalmology. The hospital will also focus more than originally planned on wellness and sports medicine because of Wanda's relationship to the sports industry. Wanda, which is well known for its large shopping complexes, is a sponsor of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and the 2021 first edition of the expanded Fifa Club World Cup.
Additionally, UPMC sees the project as an opportunity to develop an ambulatory model in conjunction with an acute care hospital — with some patients treated at outpatient clinics and sent to the hospital, if necessary, for more complex care.
"We think this is a great opportunity for [China] to rethink and maybe reemphasize and reprioritize an ambulatory care strategy, in addition to equipping their hospitals to be prepared for infectious disease outbreaks," said Mr. Bogosta.
Wanda is financing the Chengdu Wanda-UPMC International Hospital. Mr. Bogosta noted that the final cost won't be known until the bidding process for construction is completed.
In terms of staffing, UPMC, as the hospital's manager, will deploy employees from its facilities worldwide, supplemented by people with deep knowledge of Chinese and Western medical markets, said UPMC's country manager in China, Jeffrey Bernstein. UPMC expects significant opportunities for new hires, both hospital executives and physician department leaders as staffing efforts continue.
In addition to the hospital in Chengdu, UPMC and Wanda are considering hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Wuhan.