UPMC Washington Hospital is using a partnership with Children’s Hospital to expand its pediatric emergency services. (Photo courtesy ov UPMC)

By Riley Dunn, Pittsburgh Business Times

UPMC Washington has expanded pediatric emergency services in partnership with the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. The expansion will serve to provide children in Washington County and its surrounding areas with specialty, life saving care.

It also follows the affiliation of the former Washington Hospital with UPMC, a development which closed last year on June 1, 2024. The UPMC Children’s Hospital is nationally ranked by the US News & World Report in all 11 pediatric specialties that were surveyed by the report. 

“The main reason for doing this is to make sure that we provide the best care for all ages — from newborns to teenagers,” Brook Ward, president of UPMC Washington said, “and so we’re making sure all of our providers are using the most advanced protocols, training, and expertise.”

Ward believes that helping to reduce distances and travel times will also have a positive impact on Washington County residents, who would no longer have to drive or take an ambulance to the Children’s Hospital, which may be difficult on crowded Pittsburgh roads. 

“From my perspective, this is all about ensuring that families across our region receive the highest possible care close to home,” Ward said.

Dian Hupp, president of UPMC’s Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh also weighed in.

“Many children, when they come into the emergency department, need follow up care, and part of that care is sometimes a necessary visit with a specialist,” Hupp said. “This affiliation will give them direct access within a day to a timely appointment scheduled with a UPMC Children’s specialist.” 

Hupp also emphasized the need for shared clinical pathways at UPMC affiliated hospitals. A clinical pathway is a term that describes different plans of care for patients who have different conditions and procedures. 

The new affiliation aims to provide pediatric patients with the ability to connect with more than 400 physicians working at UPMC Children’s for follow up appointments, which can be scheduled before the patient and parent leave UPMC Washington’s emergency department. This care comes as a response to an increased need for pediatric services in Washington County, as Washington physicians care for thousands of patients every day. 

“With those patients, right now, many of them need to travel in [to Pittsburgh]. Some of the patients in the ED get transferred. What we’re hoping to do is keep this care closer to home,” Hupp said. 

While physicians will be able to treat new cases locally, they will also have the support of pediatric experts in Pittsburgh. 

“There is a definite community need, and I think the community is very much welcome,” Hupp said. 

UPMC Children’s Specialty Care Center Washington is also planning on expanding its services this summer to provide broader access to a range of pediatric specialities, including rheumatology. These new offerings build upon the recent addition of orthopedics and the services currently offered by the center. 

“From this nationally ranked ED hospital in the nation, we are able to deliver care to these kids in their home communities,” Hupp said. “And I know that it means a lot to the families. So, our commitment is that we will continue to do our best to deliver care in home communities.”

Riley Dunn is a student at the University of Iowa and one of 10 Pittsburgh Media Partnership summer interns.