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(Disclaimer: I have friends and family who work for UPMC Health System, but so do most residents of Allegheny County at this point. Nevertheless, opinions expressed in today's Almanac are mine alone, and do not reflect the opinions of any other person or organization.)


In the wake of the resignation of the president of UPMC McKeesport hospital, several people have emailed the Almanac to express their fears about the facility's future.

A statement put out by UPMC's executive office and forwarded to the Almanac says Ronald Ott resigned to "pursue other professional interests."

Here's the memo (PDF) that was distributed to employees (a tip of the Tube City hard hat to our alert Almanac readers); these are the relevant details for Our Fair City:

With Ron's departure, UPMC will merge the administrative structures of UPMC McKeesport and UPMC Braddock. Current UPMC Braddock President Cindy Dorundo will assume the role of President of both hospitals and maintain administrative offices at both facilities. Each hospital, however, will retain its separate Board of Directors and medical staff.

Cindy joined UPMC in 1995 and has been President of UPMC Braddock since 2007. She brings vast amounts of experience and strategic vision to her expanded role and has successfully worked with UPMC Braddock's Board, medical staff, employees and community leaders to further develop the offering of quality and specialized care within the region. UPMC remains committed to delivering the highest-quality, most cost-effective, patient-focused health care available to the residents of the McKeesport and Braddock communities.

(I don't know what "resigned to pursue other interests" means in the health care world, but in media, when someone "resigned to pursue other interests," it means they were told to scram.)

Ott's departure is jarring because he's one of the last high-ranking executives from the independent McKeesport Hospital, which was merged into UPMC in 1998. He was named president and chief executive officer back in 1992.

Here are the fears that have been expressed over the last 24 hours by residents and UPMC McKeesport employees:

• UPMC McKeesport is going to be downsized, and Ott refused to go along;


• UPMC McKeesport is going to move out of the city;


• UPMC McKeesport is going to change its name, because UPMC thinks the name "McKeesport" carries a stigma; and


• UPMC McKeesport's doctors and services are going to move to UPMC's new Monroeville facility.

The official word from UPMC is that only the administrative staffs of Braddock and McKeesport are merging, and that both facilities are safe.

A confidential source told the Almanac that any other rumors are false: "McKeesport is one of our most important community hospitals. We're very high on keeping it viable."

Indeed, UPMC McKeesport is one of the busiest hospitals in Allegheny County, according to state Department of Health statistics. The 200-bed facility had an 80.1 percent occupancy rate in 2006-07. Only the combined 1,572 beds at UPMC Presbyterian and UPMC Shadyside had a higher occupancy rate (84.2 percent).

That's better than hospitals in comparable cities like Beaver, Latrobe, Jeannette, Washington, Uniontown and Greensburg.

While not the busiest emergency room in Allegheny County, UPMC McKeesport does handle more emergency cases than West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield, UPMC Braddock, Ohio Valley General in Kennedy Township, and Magee-Womens Hospital --- about 32,000 cases in 2006-07.

Still, people cited several different reasons for why they have these fears. Some claim that housekeeping and other support services have already been cut back at the hospital.

Others pointed out that only four facilities in the UPMC system have unionized nurses: McKeesport, Braddock, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, and Sherwood Oaks in Cranberry Township. Shutting down Braddock and McKeesport, these folks say, would allow UPMC to lay off those nurses and hire non-union nurses in Monroeville at lower wages and with no seniority rules.

Their fears are not completely unfounded; hospitals in Brownsville and Aliquippa have struggled to remain open, though they aren't nearly as well-used as UPMC McKeesport.

And with UPMC reportedly trying to cut five to 10 percent from its $7 billion budget --- and with the Post-Gazette reporting that layoffs are possible throughout the system --- it's understandable why McKeesporters are nervous.

UPMC McKeesport is the city's largest employer and a crucial provider of services to the Mon-Yough area.

Nobody asked me, but it would be a nice gesture if the new president of UPMC McKeesport would reassure everyone that the facility has a long-term future in the city as a full-service community hospital.

The people who have supported and come to rely upon UPMC McKeesport, and its employees, deserve that much.