BRADDOCK, Pa. (AP) – Highmark Inc.’s Allegheny Health Network has opened an urgent care center in Braddock, a Pittsburgh suburb where the rival University of Pittsburgh Medical Center closed a hospital almost five years ago.
UPMC closed the 123-bed hospital on Jan. 31, 2010 because it was losing money. Residents objected that would cost the impoverished suburb badly needed jobs and make medical care inconvenient. The nearest UPMC urgent care center is nearly nine miles away in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood, according to a UPMC website.
The Braddock Urgent Care Center which opened Monday has 12 patient exam rooms, and facilities for blood work and X-rays.
Highmark created the seven-hospital Allegheny Health Network by taking over the former West Penn Allegheny Health System and other facilities. It competes with UPMC, which has more than 20 hospitals and its own health insurance network.
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