Pittsburgh-based UPMC has been in the headlines recently, with stories ranging from the health system being a target of Pennsylvania lawmakers amid allegations of monopolizing the local market to its planned acquisition of a fourth hospital in Ireland.
Here are 10 things in the past six months to know about the 40-hospital system that employs 92,000 people:
- Two state lawmakers set their sights on UPMC after a report from the American Economic Liberties Project accused the system of building a monopoly.
- UPMC is to acquire the Sports Surgery Clinic in Dublin. The 101-bed hospital becomes UPMC's fourth hospital in Ireland.
- The system plans to raise its minimum wage to $18 an hour, more than double the statutory minimum wage in Pennsylvania. The increase will be phased in initially by January 2025, with increases across the whole system by 2026.
- UPMC Altoona came to an agreement with unionized nurses at the hospital to approve a three-year deal after five months of negotiation. The new contract could lead to some nurses earning a more than 30 percent wage increase over the life of the contract, which is set to expire in 2025.
- UPMC pledged Oct. 4 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent within the next eight years.
- UPMC plans to open a new outpatient medical center in Derry Township, Pa., to include urgent care, cardiology and women's health services.
- The system is targeting the Feb. 12 Super Bowl to relaunch its Minutes Matter ad campaign in local markets to focus on emergency preparedness during a mental health emergency.
- UPMC Enterprises, the system's venture capital arm, joined in a $50 million financing round for Clearsense, a healthcare analytics and data company.
- UPMC is transitioning its 25-bed rural hospital in Lock Haven, Pa., to an outpatient emergency department.
- UPMC reported revenue of $18.9 billion in the first nine months of the year Nov. 22 but posted an overall loss of $1.1 billion.