UPMC Mercy
Encyclopedia
UPMC Mercy is a main hospital facility of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)
and is located in the Uptown
section of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, adjacent to downtown Pittsburgh and a few blocks from the Mellon Arena
. It is the first chartered hospital to have been founded in the city of Pittsburgh
and it is also the first hospital in the world to have been established by the Sisters of Mercy
. It is also the first teaching hospital in the region, accepting residents to teaching positions beginning in 1848, one year after opening its doors.
In January 2008, Mercy Hospital merged with Pittsburgh health care giant UPMC
, taking on its current name UPMC Mercy.
, a religious congregation founded in Ireland
in 1831 by Catherine McAuley
, brought its stated mission of caring and compassion to the growing industrial city of Pittsburgh in 1843. Mother Frances Warde led six other sisters to the United States, where they founded the first congregation of the Sisters of Mercy in Pittsburgh. The pioneering “Seven Sisters” of Mercy opened the first permanent hospital in Pittsburgh, and the world’s first Mercy Hospital, on Jan. 1, 1847. Founded by Bishop Michael O'Conner, it began life in a temporary frame building on Penn Avenue known as Concert Hall. The hospital they established was open to all regardless of race, nationality, age, gender, or religion. Mercy established the region’s first teaching hospital with resident physicians in training in 1848.
Mercy Hospital grew rapidly with Pittsburgh in the second half of the nineteenth century. To qualify for new funding sources, the hospital was incorporated, a board was established, and Thomas M. Carnegie
was elected board president. The Sisters of Mercy and the physicians and nurses of Mercy Hospital continued to serve the Pittsburgh region through World War I
, the worldwide epidemic of Spanish influenza, the Great Depression
, and World War II
. One of the most compelling examples of the hospital's service to the community occurred in 1931 when Mercy Hospital donated more than $600,000 worth of health care services at a time when one day in the hospital cost less than $4. That commitment to the community was demonstrated again when, in the 1960s, Mercy decided to rebuild and remain in uptown Pittsburgh
, and over the next four decades, the hospital expanded, replaced facilities, and developed specialized programs and advanced technology.
In 2006, Mercy Hospital decided to seek a strategic partner to strengthen and preserve its faith-based
care and Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh merged with UPMC to become UPMC Mercy on Jan. 1, 2008. The hospital remains Pittsburgh’s only Catholic
hospital with specialized services, including include the neurosciences, Level I trauma and burn services, women’s health, orthopaedics, and physical medicine and rehabilitation.
As a Catholic hospital, UPMC Mercy will not provide or permit medical procedures that are contrary to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, thus not providing some procedures available at other UPMC facilities.
UPMC Mercy provides inpatient Behavioral Health services, on both a General Adult unit and a Dual Diagnosis unit.
Level 4A Medically Managed Inpatient Detox services have been offered at UPMC Mercy since January 2010, as a result of the closure of UPMC Braddock that month. Although both Level 4A (Medically Managed) and Level 3A (Medically Monitored) Inpatient Detox had been available on the UPMC Braddock premises, Level 3A services are not available at UPMC Mercy.
It also incorporates a fully accredited and internally contained 33-bed rehabilitation center for the treatment of various forms of pathology producing physical disabilities, with specialty rehabilitation programs that address acquired brain injury, stroke, and Limb Amputation.
UPMC Mercy Hospital offers residency training programs in the fields of Anesthesiology, Diagnostic Radiology, Family Medicine, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Osteopathic, Pharmacy, Physical Med & Rehab, Podiatry, and a Transitional Year Internship.
is a past patient. In a statement released on June 15, 2006 through the Pittsburgh Steelers
organization following his treatment at Mercy Hospital for injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident in downtown Pittsburgh on June 12, 2006, Mr. Roethlisberger included the following acknowledgment: "The physicians and support staff at Mercy Hospital were simply amazing, and I will forever be grateful for their caring treatment."
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is an $9 billion integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 54,000 employees, 20 hospitals, 4,200 licensed beds, 400 outpatient sites and doctors’ offices, a 1.5 million-member health insurance division, as well as commercial and...
and is located in the Uptown
Bluff (Pittsburgh)
The Bluff or Uptown is a neighborhood in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the southeast of the city's Central Business District. It is bordered in the north by the Hill District and just a short trip across the Monongahela River is the city's South Side, which is home to a flourishing...
section of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, adjacent to downtown Pittsburgh and a few blocks from the Mellon Arena
Mellon Arena
Civic Arena is an indoor arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that is currently undergoing demolition. It was the first retractable roof major sports venue in the world, covering 170,000 sq. feet and constructed with just shy of 3,000 tons of Pittsburgh steel...
. It is the first chartered hospital to have been founded in the city of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
and it is also the first hospital in the world to have been established by the Sisters of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
. It is also the first teaching hospital in the region, accepting residents to teaching positions beginning in 1848, one year after opening its doors.
In January 2008, Mercy Hospital merged with Pittsburgh health care giant UPMC
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is an $9 billion integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 54,000 employees, 20 hospitals, 4,200 licensed beds, 400 outpatient sites and doctors’ offices, a 1.5 million-member health insurance division, as well as commercial and...
, taking on its current name UPMC Mercy.
History
The Sisters of MercySisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
, a religious congregation founded in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1831 by Catherine McAuley
Catherine McAuley
The Venerable Mother Catherine Elizabeth McAuley was an Irish nun, who founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831...
, brought its stated mission of caring and compassion to the growing industrial city of Pittsburgh in 1843. Mother Frances Warde led six other sisters to the United States, where they founded the first congregation of the Sisters of Mercy in Pittsburgh. The pioneering “Seven Sisters” of Mercy opened the first permanent hospital in Pittsburgh, and the world’s first Mercy Hospital, on Jan. 1, 1847. Founded by Bishop Michael O'Conner, it began life in a temporary frame building on Penn Avenue known as Concert Hall. The hospital they established was open to all regardless of race, nationality, age, gender, or religion. Mercy established the region’s first teaching hospital with resident physicians in training in 1848.
Mercy Hospital grew rapidly with Pittsburgh in the second half of the nineteenth century. To qualify for new funding sources, the hospital was incorporated, a board was established, and Thomas M. Carnegie
Thomas M. Carnegie
Thomas Morrison Carnegie was a Scottish-born American industrialist. He was the brother of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, and co-founder of the Edgar Thomson Steel Works .-Early life:...
was elected board president. The Sisters of Mercy and the physicians and nurses of Mercy Hospital continued to serve the Pittsburgh region through World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the worldwide epidemic of Spanish influenza, the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. One of the most compelling examples of the hospital's service to the community occurred in 1931 when Mercy Hospital donated more than $600,000 worth of health care services at a time when one day in the hospital cost less than $4. That commitment to the community was demonstrated again when, in the 1960s, Mercy decided to rebuild and remain in uptown Pittsburgh
Bluff (Pittsburgh)
The Bluff or Uptown is a neighborhood in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the southeast of the city's Central Business District. It is bordered in the north by the Hill District and just a short trip across the Monongahela River is the city's South Side, which is home to a flourishing...
, and over the next four decades, the hospital expanded, replaced facilities, and developed specialized programs and advanced technology.
Faith-based
The term faith-based is a neologism , mostly current in US English, to describe any organization or government idea or plan based on religious beliefs, specifically Christian beliefs....
care and Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh merged with UPMC to become UPMC Mercy on Jan. 1, 2008. The hospital remains Pittsburgh’s only Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
hospital with specialized services, including include the neurosciences, Level I trauma and burn services, women’s health, orthopaedics, and physical medicine and rehabilitation.
Mission
From its inception in 1847, the hospital has welcomed and served all who are in need of its services regardless of race, nationality, age, gender or religion. UPMC Mercy continues to provide significant amounts of unreimbursed healthcare to the poor and uninsured in Pittsburgh and to the entire Western Pennsylvania region. The Mission of the hospital includes "a commitment to being a transforming, healing presence within the communities we serve."Core values
The UPMC Mercy embraces the following seven "core values" that are at the heart of its daily operation:- Reverence for each person,
- Community support,
- Justice for all,
- Commitment to those who are poor,
- Stewardship,
- Courage,
- Integrity.
As a Catholic hospital, UPMC Mercy will not provide or permit medical procedures that are contrary to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, thus not providing some procedures available at other UPMC facilities.
Major programs
UPMC Mercy Hospital is a Level I Trauma Center, a major neurosurgical center, and a major cardiovascular treatment center that also has recently acquired unique expertise and advanced technology for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke and neurovascular disorders.UPMC Mercy provides inpatient Behavioral Health services, on both a General Adult unit and a Dual Diagnosis unit.
Level 4A Medically Managed Inpatient Detox services have been offered at UPMC Mercy since January 2010, as a result of the closure of UPMC Braddock that month. Although both Level 4A (Medically Managed) and Level 3A (Medically Monitored) Inpatient Detox had been available on the UPMC Braddock premises, Level 3A services are not available at UPMC Mercy.
It also incorporates a fully accredited and internally contained 33-bed rehabilitation center for the treatment of various forms of pathology producing physical disabilities, with specialty rehabilitation programs that address acquired brain injury, stroke, and Limb Amputation.
UPMC Mercy Hospital offers residency training programs in the fields of Anesthesiology, Diagnostic Radiology, Family Medicine, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Osteopathic, Pharmacy, Physical Med & Rehab, Podiatry, and a Transitional Year Internship.
Internal Medicine Residency Program
Internal medicine residency program is the largest residency program of the institution, with more than 50 first, second and third year categorical residents. The interim program director is Dr. Anthony J Pinevich. The program is taught at UPMC Mercy Hospital and the Mercy Health Center.Prominent patients
Ben RoethlisbergerBen Roethlisberger
Benjamin Todd "Ben" Roethlisberger , nicknamed Big Ben, is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round in the 2004 NFL Draft...
is a past patient. In a statement released on June 15, 2006 through the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
organization following his treatment at Mercy Hospital for injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident in downtown Pittsburgh on June 12, 2006, Mr. Roethlisberger included the following acknowledgment: "The physicians and support staff at Mercy Hospital were simply amazing, and I will forever be grateful for their caring treatment."