 | Committee to help preserve Catholic directives
as Excela Health purchases Jeanette hospital
GREENSBURG — A Committee on Ethical and Religious Health Care Directives has been established to honor and preserve the longstanding tradition of Catholic health care services in the Jeannette community, officials announced April 24.
Created in anticipation of the acquisition of Mercy Jeannette Hospital by Excela Health, the committee is composed of members of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Catholic Health East, the Diocese of Greensburg and Excela Health.
“Creating this group is the first step in fulfilling Excela Health’s commitment to the Jeannette community, the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill and Catholic Health East. We are honored to inherit a long cherished tradition of Catholic health care and will maintain the ethical and religious directives in place at the Jeannette campus,” said committee chairman Dr. Ralph Capone, chief medical officer of Excela Health.
Capone is also president of the Diocese of Greensburg’s St. Luke Society for health care professionals and is a parishioner of Our Lady of Grace Parish, Greensburg.
The committee will provide oversight for the implementation of and adherence to all ethical and religious directives at the Jeannette campus, which will become an extension of Excela Health’s Westmoreland Hospital. In addition, pastoral care services and daily Mass, which is celebrated in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit on the fourth floor, will continue at the Jeannette campus.
In addition to Capone, appointed members of the committee are: Phillip Boyle, vice president of mission and ethics, Catholic Health East; Peggy Hayden, chief nursing officer, Excela Health; Sister of Charity Vivien Linkhauer, president, U.S. Province, Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill; and Msgr. Raymond E. Riffle, managing director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Greensburg and pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish.
The group is scheduled to meet May 8.
Mercy Jeannette Hospital and Excela Health announced plans for an acquisition of the hospital in October 2007. The transaction was completed May 1.
Excela Health purchase of Jeannette Hospital complete
GREENSBURG — Excela Health has completed its purchase of Mercy Jeannette Hospital, officials with both organizations announced May 1.
The Jeannette campus will be an extension of Westmoreland Hospital. Excela Health also includes Frick, Hospital in Mount Pleasant, Latrobe Hospital and Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg.
Renamed Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital at Jeannette, the campus will offer emergency and inpatient care, as well as surgical services and advanced diagnostics.
“It is a great honor that we welcome the Mercy Jeannette Hospital employees and physicians as part of the Excela Health family ... ,” said David S. Gallatin, chief executive officer of Excela Health.
Excela Health officials list the following commitments to the Jeannette community:
- preserving local access to health care
- investing $10 million over the next five years for the health care needs of the community
- preserving nearly 500 local jobs throughout the Excela Health hospital system and providing training to ensure a smooth transition honoring the ethical and religious directives for Catholic health care services at the Jeannette site.
In November, Excela Health was selected by Catholic Health East, Pittsburgh Mercy Health System, the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill and Mercy Jeannette Hospital to provide a solution for the financially struggling Mercy Jeannette Hospital, which was facing a $6.5 million loss from operations in 2007.
“This transaction represents the best solution for our patients, employees and community because it directly addresses the challenges we could not overcome as a stand-alone hospital in the region,” said Julie Hester, president and chief executive officer of Mercy Jeannette Hospital.
Obstetrics, adult inpatient rehabilitation, behavioral health and skilled nursing are being relocated to other Excela Health hospitals, officials said.
Earlier this year, Excela Health’s acquisition of Mercy Jeannette Hospital gained required approvals from the Vatican, Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett and the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas, Orphans’ Court Division. |