The Grove City Medical Center is merging with Allegheny Health Network.
The two entities announced the affiliation agreement Monday.
Pending governmental approval, the merger would be official within the next few months and establish Grove City as AHN’s ninth-owned hospital in what the network calls a “critical access point” for services between Pittsburgh and Erie.
“Today is a great day for Grove City and Mercer County, and an important milestone for Grove City Medical Center as we embark upon the next chapter in our organization’s long history of service to this community,” said Timothy R. Bonner, chairman of the hospital’s board of directors. “After months of discussion and careful deliberation, we are extremely excited to affiliate with an exceptional organization that shares our charitable mission, vision and values. AHN and Highmark Health are committed to getting health care right, and we look forward to being part of the incredible work they are doing to provide the people of our region with the high-quality, high-value health services that they deserve.“
The Grove City Medical Center is a 67-bed hospital in Mercer County, with six outpatient clinics and lab sites- including an outpatient center in Slippery Rock and a lab in Harrisville.
As part of the affiliation agreement, AHN and GCMC will help to fund a new independent Grove City Health Care Foundation with an initial endowment of up to $30 million to be spent locally in Grove City on health and wellness initiatives. A local board, made up primarily of current GCMC board members, will determine how those resources are allocated. AHN will also invest an additional $40 million over the next 10 years to further enhance GCMC’s clinical programs, technological capabilities and physical infrastructure.
AHN will add or enhance a host of clinical services at GCMC, including primary care, neurology, oncology, cardiology, behavioral health, orthopedics, pediatrics, and general surgery. The network will also expand telehealth services at the hospital to include tele-dermatology, tele-stroke and autoimmune consultations, and install the Epic electronic health record system at both Grove City’s main campus and its satellite facilities. AHN is the largest health care network in western Pennsylvania with a singular integrated electronic health record across its many sites of care.
“In Allegheny Health Network and Highmark Health, we have chosen partners who are on the leading-edge of health care’s transformation to a value-driven model of care that places the best interests of patients and communities at the center of the equation,” said Robert Jackson, CEO of Grove City Medical Center. “This affiliation is wonderful news for our many patients, families and local employers who rely on the health services that Grove City provides in this community. Our future has never been brighter than it is today.”
Grove City will be the first hospital to fully affiliate with AHN since 2013.
