UPMC Memorial sees first patients this week

UPMC Pinnacle began transferring patients to its new West Manchester Township hospital early Sunday morning. By 9 a.m., the new UPMC Memorial hospital was open.

The opening comes just over two years after the plans for the larger, more modern UPMC Memorial were approved by West Manchester Township officials in July of 2017.

In its first day, the 102-bed private-room hospital treated more than 100 patients and had no problems moving from its former Spring Garden Township location, according to Kelly McCall, UPMC Pinnacle’s public relations director.

“Effective planning and the dedication of our staff supported a smooth transition,” McCall said. “The physicians and the staff are excited to be caring for patients and their families in the new hospital.”

The new hospital is 36 percent larger than the Spring Garden Township facility and includes three heart catherization labs, six operating rooms, a 28 room emergency department and a 14 bed critical care unit.

In the past 20 years, York County’s population has grown by 16 percent with an increase of 60,000 people. That population growth had spilled over to UPMC Memorial, officials said, with emergency department visits going from 15,000 patients per year to 45,000 in the last two decades.

“UPMC Memorial has seen exponential growth in emergency department visits, surgeries and births in the last 20 years,” said Philip Guarneschelli, president and CEO of UPMC Pinnacle. “With this new hospital and future outpatient facility, UPMC Memorial is able to continue providing care that area residents need and want for generations to come.”

Adjacent to the new hospital building is the 120,000-square-foot, five-level UPMC Outpatient Center set to open on Sept. 9. The facility is expected to offer ambulatory surgery, outpatient imaging, a sleep lab, a cancer center and offices for specialty care providers.

The Spring Garden Township hospital ended direct admissions of patients from physicians on Aug. 11 and stopped receiving patients from local ambulance services on Aug. 15.

The former UPMC Memorial is currently for sale.

Correction: A photo labeled as the new UPMC Outpatient Center depicted a different facility from the outpatient center.