The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is a leading American healthcare provider and institution for medical research. Systemwide, UPMC is a $7 billion non-profit organization that has 48,000 employees, 20 hospitals, 400 outpatient sites and doctors? offices, a 1.2-million-member health insurance division, as well as commercial and international ventures.^[1] It consistently ranks in U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" of the approximately 15 best hospitals in America. On that annual list, it has appeared eight consecutive times from 1999 through 2007 http://www.upmc.com/NewsStories/BestOfTheBest2006.htm. As of 2007, UPMC ranks 13th among the best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report.^[2]

Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it is best known as the home to Jonas Salk while he developed the polio vaccine, where Thomas Starzl perfected transplant surgeries, and for the breakthroughs of isolating and identifying the benefits of Vitamin C in the 1930s.

The medical center has also served as the primary care facility for Pennsylvania two-term governor and 1996 Presidential candidate Robert P. Casey when he battled cancer, 10,000 Maniacs guitarist and founder Robert Buck from liver disease and Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor from lymphoma.

UPMC is closely affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh.

Operations

UPMC has its roots in the establishment in of Presbyterian Hospital in 1893. In 1939, the University of Pittsburgh helped create the University Medical Center with Falk Clinic, Children's, Eye and Ear, Libby Steele Magee, Presbyterian General, and Women's Hospitals.http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittfact;cc=pittfact;g=documentingpitt;xc=1;xg=1;q1=social%20sciences%20building;rgn=full%20text;idno=1979a073698;didno=1979a073698;view=image;seq=73;page=root;size=s;frm=frameset; Since then, UPMC has become an entity unto itself and grown, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "to a 29-county system with 40,000 employees, $5.1 billion in revenue, a for-profit health insurance subsidiary with half a million members and a network of 19 hospitals; 17 nursing, retirement and long-term care homes; and more than 4,000 affiliated physicians." It is western Pennsylvania's largest employer, and second in the state only to Wal-Mart.

Hospitals

View of several UPMC buildings in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. The building at center with the cupola and flag is the main hospital, UPMC Presbyterian

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center currently operates approximately 20 hospitals in the western Pennsylvania area, all of varying sizes and specialties.

UPMC Presbyterian

UPMC Presbyterian is UPMC's primary hospital. The hospital has 1,594 beds, and is located in Oakland, a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, PA. The emergency department has a Level I Trauma Center. Specialties include organ transplantation, cardiology, trauma, and neurosurgery. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine uses UPMC Presbyterian for research and graduate programs.^{[3] [4]}

UPMC Shadyside

UPMC Shadyside is one of UPMC's main hospitals, located in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood, with 486 beds and more than 600 primary care physicians. ^[5]

Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC

Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC is a UPMC specialty hospital, mainly for women; however some services at the hospital are now available for men. The hospital is equipped with 287 beds. 10,000 births are performed at Magee each year, which accounts for 45 percent of all births in Allegheny County.^[6]

Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC

The new Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC under construction, as of October 2007.

A new Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh campus is currently being built. Opening in mid-2009, the 1.5 million square foot hospital will have 302 beds, with a 41 bed emergency department and a 36 bed pediatric intensive care unit.^[8] A ten-story research center is also being constructed, with seven out of the ten floors will be dedicated for pediatric medical research. The complex will be environmentally friendly and "quiet".^[9] The new campus has an estimated total cost of over . ^[10]

Other hospitals

• UPMC Braddock
• UPMC McKeesport
• UPMC Passavant
• UPMC Passavant Cranberry
• UPMC South Side
• UPMC St. Margaret
• UPMC Bedford Memorial
• UPMC Horizon
• UPMC Northwest
• UPMC Montefiore
• UPMC Mercy
• UPMC Eye & Ear Institute
• UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic

Center for Biosecurity

The Center for is an independent, nonprofit organization of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).http://www.upmc-biosecurity.org/website/center/mission.html

UPMC Health Plan

UPMC Health Plan, the second-largest health insurer in Western Pennsylvania, is owned by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), one of the nation's top-ranked health systems. The integrated partner companies of the UPMC Insurance Services Division - which includes UPMC Health Plan, Work Partners, EAP Solutions, UPMC for You (Medical Assistance), and Community Care Behavioral Health - offer a full range of group health insurance, Medicare, CHIP, Medical Assistance, behavioral health, employee assistance, and workers' compensation products and services to nearly 1.2 million members. Their local provider network includes UPMC as well as community providers, totaling more than 80 hospitals and more than 7,500 physicians in a 29-county region. For more information, visit www.upmchealthplan.com <http://www.upmchealthplan.com/>.

Operations Abroad

UPMC operates cancer clinics in Ireland. They mainly serve underserved populations. Beacon Cancer Centre is located within Beacon Hospital in Dublin. UPMC Whitfield Cancer Centre is located in Waterford.

Additionally, UPMC operates the Mediterranean Institute for Transplantation and Advanced Specialized Therapies (ISMETT). The 70 bed facility, located in Palermo, Italy, specializes in multi organ transplantation.^[11]

External links

• University of Pittsburgh Medical Center website
• UPMC Health Plan website
• Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh
• ISMETT
• Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
• Magee-Womens Hospital

See also

• List of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center buildings

References

• Steve Levin (2005). Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Profile: Jeffrey Romoff and the ascent of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Retrieved December 26, 2005.

Gallery

see also: List of UPMC buildings in Pittsburgh <gallery> Image:UPMC Presbyterian - Main Entrance (larger).JPG| Entrance to UPMC's co-flagship hospital in Oakland: UPMC Presbyterian Image:UPMC Shadyside 01.JPG | A wing of UPMC Shadyside, the co-flagship hospital of UPMC Image:UPMC Shadyside 02.JPG|UPMC Shadyside Image:UPMC Montefiore.jpg | UPMC Montefiore on the Oakland campus Image:Western Psychiatric Institute - Thomas Detre Hall.jpg| Western Psychiatric Institute's Thomas Detre Hall on the campus of University of Pittsburgh in Oakland Image:Medical Arts Building.JPG | Medical Arts Building in Oakland Image:Kaufmann Medical Building.jpg|Kaufmann Medical Building in Oakland Image:Forbes Tower.JPG|Forbes Tower in Oakland Image:UPMCSportsPerformanceComplex5.jpg|UPMC Sports Performance Complex </gallery>

sv:University of Pittsburgh Medical Center