Allegheny Health Network’s $600M Plan To Expand Reach Depends On Highmark

Allegheny Health Network proposes investing part of $175 million from Highmark Inc. in renovations and technology upgrades at its Allegheny General and West Penn hospitals, anticipating that they will accommodate more patients when Highmark insurance subscribers lose in-network access to UPMC next year.

The Highmark-owned hospital system would build outpatient medical centers and expand emergency, trauma and women’s health services to underserved parts of Western Pennsylvania as part of a spending plan that executives say will help it better compete with UPMC.

“The entire amount … will be used for capital improvements at Allegheny Health Network to fill in certain service line gaps,” Chief Financial Officer Karen Hanlon said during a state Department of Insurance hearing Monday. “No portion of the requested funding will go to pay operating expenses.”

UPMC Treasurer Tal Heppenstall Jr. said Allegheny Health Network is in worse financial condition than Highmark has reported and chided the company for its “profound lack of financial transparency.” He said it appears Highmark is hiding huge losses in “sporadic, fragmented and murky” financial statements.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/healthnews/8208546-74/highmark-health-network#ixzz3ZH4hmeqt
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1 Killed, 4 Wounded In Homewood Bar Shooting

A map of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with its neighborhoods labeled. For use primarily in the list of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One person was shot to death and four others wounded inside a Homewood bar early Saturday, city police said.

When police and medics arrived at the Rendezvous Phase III bar, in the 7200 block of Hamilton Ave., about 1:20 a.m., bar patrons were fleeing the scene, according to a statement from police.

Police found Vincent Edward Holt Jr., 27, of Homewood dead inside the bar.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/5685313-74/bar-shooting-examiner#ixzz2ulk0I0G5
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Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield Neighborhood Gets Its Turn To Become New Hot Spot

Locator map with the Bloomfield neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania highlighted. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Stability has been one of Bloomfield‘s strengths. During the East End’s worst years of blight and crime, Bloomfield went about its business while other neighborhoods got triage.

The drawback was being ignored.

Lawrenceville, Garfield and East Liberty came out of the mire with high-capacity staffs of community development nonprofits, while the Bloomfield Development Corp. morphed out of a merchants’ association with one staff person, Karla Owens, who left in 2012.

Now the Bloomfield Development Corp. is coming around the track on the inside, ready to assert the neighborhood’s presence with six years of funding, a new executive director and positive trends afoot.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2013/12/09/Bloomfield-gets-its-turn-to-become-new-hot-spot/stories/201312090037#ixzz2n0C960do