Highmark Health, AHN Celebrate Pittsburgh-Area Hospital Expansion

AHN Jefferson Hospital Emergency Department. Image courtesy of AHN

Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network have completed Phase I of the new emergency department of AHN Jefferson Hospital in Jefferson Hills, Pa. The project cost $21 million and expanded the existing facility by 34,000 square feet. During the renovations, the hospital’s helipad was also relocated to the roof of the structure. Phase II, which is expected to complete in May 2020, will consist of modernizing the current emergency department space. 

The new emergency department encompasses 44 private observation and treatment rooms, a larger triage area with increased patient privacy, seven care team stations designed as central nursing pods, an integrated imaging suite with x-ray and CT technology, designated behavioral health assessment and treatment rooms, specialized rooms for trauma, bariatric room with lift and specially-sized beds as well as a new waiting room. Due to a $1 million grant from the Jefferson Regional Foundation, the hospital also plans to open a patient screening and referral program called the “Front Door Initiative for Social Emergency Medicine.”  

AHN Jefferson Hospital is located at 565 Coal Valley Road and serves more than 50,000 patients in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, Lower Mon Valley and the surrounding areas. In 2014, Highmark Health added the new Cancer and Women and Infants Centers and more recently, a state-of-the-art, $17.5 million surgical suite.  

The project is just one example of the redevelopments that have been taking place in Pittsburgh in the recent quarters, driven by growth in the tech, healthcare and life sciences sectors. In June, Ventas and Wexford announced the redevelopment of The Pitt Immune Transplant & Therapy Center, a $280 million, trophy-quality historic project.