Representatives of West Penn Allegheny Health System updated Bellevue Council Tuesday on changes at the Allegheny General Hospital - Suburban Campus.

Gregory Burfitt, CEO of Allegheny General Hospital and Kim Sperring, vice president of AGH- Suburban Campus, spoke to council about what has happened since inpatient and emergency room services were discontinued last week.

They assured council of AGH's commitment to the community, and stated that new services, such as a sleep lab to diagnose and treat sleep disorders, and an urgent care center, had been added to the facility. The hospital also continues to provide outpatient services such as physical therapy, outpatient testing, and ambulance services. Burfitt and Sperring told council that the urgent care center was used as soon as its doors opened, and has been very well received. They said the hospital also intends to have an ambulance service on-site, which will be available at all times as an additional base unit. They told Council that these services would be offered as long as they were being used by the community.

Burfitt and Sperring informed council that they also were working to expand the LifeCare services at the hospital. LifeCare Hospitals of Pittsburgh provides care to patients who require long-term hospitalization. They plan to close the Life Care area for approximately 30 days for renovations and to enlarge the space used by LifeCare to two floors of the building. When completed, there will be 100 beds available for patients.

Council member Linda Woshner asked whether West Penn/Allegheny General had signed a long- term lease with LifeCare. Burfitt and Sperring stated that negotiations were underway, but no lease had yet been signed. With regard to other services, the urgent care facility has made a commitment of at least 3 years to the AGH Suburban Campus facility.

Finally, Sperring informed Council that the building continued to house other tenants, such as Dialysis Clinics, Inc., which provides dialysis services, and the WPH Oncology Group, which provides chemotherapy. The Suburban facility also is used by organizations such as the North Hills Community Food Bank, and the facilities are available for use by any volunteer organization to hold meetings.