UPMC Pinnacle to enlarge West Shore hospital

UPMC Pinnacle is planning additions to the Ortenzio Cancer Center and UPMC Pinnacle West Shore Hospital, both built in 2014.

UPMC Pinnacle said in a press release that it will extend existing floors of its five-level West Shore hospital, which has 102 beds. The new additions would be built over the building’s Emergency Department.

The hospital consistently operates at 90 percent capacity, according to the release. The added space will give the hospital an additional 58 beds and is expected to be completed by fall 2020.

“As we draw closer to celebrating the hospital’s fifth anniversary, we are pleased to be able to grow with the community and serve the needs of area patients even better,” Philip Guarneschelli, president and CEO of UPMC Pinnacle, said in the press release.

The 26,000 square-foot Ortenzio Cancer Center, meanwhile, is expanding services this month to include treatment delivered through a patient’s veins for thoracic, gastrointestinal, genito-urinary and head and neck cancers.

The cancer center had previously focused only on gynecological and breast cancers, Adam Dimm, vice president of operations and interim vice president for oncology services at UPMC Pinnacle, said in the release.

“When the center was built in 2014, we envisioned expanding services to make access to our comprehensive cancer services convenient for more patients and their families,” Dimm said. “Now patients with other types of cancer can stay closer to home and access this leading facility and all its amenities.”

The Harrisburg-based hospital system expects to hire both clinical and support staff for the expanded facilities, Kelly McCall, UPMC Pinnacle’s public relations director, said.

UPMC Pinnacle is developing a submission on the hospital expansion in order to win approval from Hampden Township officials. McCall said planning is in the early stages and the system does not yet have an estimated cost for the project.

Penn State Health plans to begin construction this year on a 300,000 square-foot hospital also in Hampden Township.