Heritage Valley Health System’s Kennedy Hospital is closing its doors today.

The hospital’s finances haven’t been in a good shape for a while and care will come to a close at the Kennedy Township hospital, leaving patients looking for other places to go.

It was just two years ago that the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit was closed down along with cutting its number of beds down from 120 to 77. Things continued to get more dire after that.

Heritage Valley says the decline in patient volume and commercial insurance reimbursement is behind the closure.

The healthcare system bought Kennedy Hospital in 2019 and Heritage Valley is one of only two remaining independent healthcare systems in the Pittsburgh region.

After today, emergency room care, inpatient behavioral health, and outpatient surgery services will end at Kennedy. Diagnostic imaging and lung rehabilitation services will also end, and those services will be moving to Heritage Valley’s two other hospitals in Beaver and Sewickley.

Some other services like cardiac rehabilitation will be moving to a building the system operates in nearby Robinson Township.

At the hospital site in Kennedy Township, there will be a medical office building next to the facility along Heckel Road that remains open and will operate a walk-in clinic, a blood draw center, doctors’ offices, and outpatient physical rehabilitation.

Heritage Valley says that staff members working at Kennedy Hospital will be offered other jobs in the system and those who choose to leave will be offered severance packages.

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The head of Heritage Valley Health System says the network’s Sewickley hospital isn’t going anywhere, despite the upcoming closure of its Kennedy counterpart.

“Clearly, there is a need for a hospital in that Sewickley community,” Heritage Valley President and CEO Norm Mitry told TribLive. “We don’t foresee any negative impact there.”

If anything, the shuttering of the old Ohio Valley Hospital at the end of June could be a boost for Heritage Valley Sewickley, just eight miles from Kennedy. The system’s only other hospital, in Brighton, lies 25 miles upriver.

Usage of the 118-year-old medical facility near Sewickley’s northern edge has been up since 2023, according to Mitry, when the nonprofit cut the Kennedy hospital’s intensive care units, pared back its surgical offerings and reduced its number of beds by just over a third.

Mitry was careful to frame the Kennedy closure, driven by declining patient activity and insufficient insurance reimbursements, as a strategic consolidation, rather than a sign of broader trouble for Heritage Valley.

Though the township is set to lose an emergency room and inpatient behavioral health unit as well as outpatient surgical, diagnostic imaging and lung rehabilitation services, these offerings will persist at Heritage Valley’s other hospitals.

Heritage Valley also is “actively exploring partnerships” to keep behavioral care going in Kennedy after the hospital’s closure, it said in a statement.

The medical office building next to the Kennedy hospital will add a walk-in clinic to partly make up for the lost emergency room, and continue to provide x-rays, lab draws, outpatient physical rehabilitation and doctors’ offices.

Heritage Valley is leaning into what it calls a medical neighborhood model, providing a mix of urgent care, diagnostics and other relatively simple services in one location, almost like a medical shopping center.

“It’s the commercialization of health,” Mitry said. “You see it everywhere. That’s why MedExpress has done well.”

Heritage Valley may have no choice but to evolve.

The network’s credit ratings have weakened in recent years, from AA- to A+ in 2023, and down further to A in 2024. Fitch Ratings, a New York City-based firm that assesses companies’ risk of failing to meet their debt obligations, also changed the system’s outlook last year from stable to negative.

Heritage Valley was projected to take a $30 million operating loss in Fiscal Year 2024 following four years in the red.

Even the region’s major integrated healthcare insurers and providers, UPMC and Highmark Health, have struggled in the current environment. UPMC reported $339 million in operating losses last year, and Highmark, which runs Allegheny Health Network, reported $209 million.

Sewickley impacts

Only time will tell how patients react to the closure.

“Whenever a hospital shuts down, that does cause their patients to have to move to other hospitals, and that can cause access problems where wait times go up, because you have the same number of patients fighting to get into a smaller number of health care facilities,” said Kevin Broom, a professor of health policy and management at the University of Pittsburgh. “Now, that’s based on the assumption that other hospitals don’t have the excess capacity to absorb that.”

Given its proximity to Kennedy, the Sewickley hospital may be the natural choice for displaced patients.

Heritage Valley Kennedy, however, is within a half-hour drive of several other hospitals, depending on traffic.

In Pittsburgh, there’s Allegheny General Hospital and UPMC Mercy. St. Clair Hospital is a short trip south, in Mt. Lebanon. And the North Hills boasts AHN Wexford, AHN McCandless and UPMC Passavant.

As for Kennedy hospital employees, they’ll be offered a comparable job within the network or a severance package. Heritage Valley has plenty of open positions, Mitry said, and “we believe we can handle almost everybody” impacted by the closure.

Heritage Valley employs about 3,400 people in all.

Physicians will go to Sewickley or Heritage Valley Ambulatory Surgery Center in Monaca, depending on their specialty. Mitry believes most patients will follow their doctors to these locations.

The system is bracing for a moderate bump in demand for diagnostic services in Sewickley.

A community cornerstone

Speculation about Heritage Valley consolidating had been swirling for some time in Kennedy and Sewickley, though few people outside the nonprofit, it seems, knew exactly what was coming.

“We were blindsided,” said Kennedy Township Manager Gregory Clarke. “You hear rumors, but nothing directly from the hospital.”

Sewickley Council President Cynthia Mullins heard rumors, too, and was concerned. There’s a lot at stake for the borough.

The hospital employs hundreds of people, who then support local restaurants on their lunch breaks. And while many patients come to Heritage Valley Sewickley quite ill, others are simply there for routine visits and may spend the rest of their day patronizing businesses along Beaver Street.

Not to mention, people want easy access to care.

“I feel bad for folks in Kennedy, but I think people in our area take a great deal of comfort in the knowledge there’s an emergency department and hospital nearby,” Mullins said.

On a walk Monday afternoon, Ellen Bozarth, 73, of Sewickley recalled the “fabulous care” she received at Heritage Valley Sewickley after falling down the steps not too long ago. Her husband, John, had called ahead of time, and when she arrived minutes later, medical staff were waiting by the entrance to take her in.

Tessa Rodriguez, 38, of Leetsdale and her three children haven’t needed hospital care since they moved to the area, but they’ve already used walk-in clinics and primary care physicians within the Heritage Valley network.

“That’s one thing we’ve been really impressed with since we’ve moved here,” she said.

Crozer Health’s roots date back to the Civil War, but the efforts to preserve the Pennsylvania health system have ultimately failed.

Prospect Medical Holdings says it has no alternative but to close Crozer Health, which operates two hospitals in the Philadelphia area: Crozer-Chester Medical Center (above) and Taylor Hospital.

Prospect Medical Holdings, the owner of Crozer Health, said Monday it is moving forward with the closure of the system. Prospect has filed for bankruptcy, with the California-based company saying it had no other choice.

Nonetheless, state lawmakers seethed when the plans to close Crozer were announced. More than 2,600 workers will lose their jobs, NBC10 reports.

The move comes even after Pennsylvania state officials and local officials directed millions of dollars to preserve Crozer Health in hopes of finding a permanent solution. Crozer operates two hospitals – Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital – and other care sites in Delaware County, part of the Philadelphia suburbs. Prospect said a handful of ambulatory and imaging centers will remain open.

“Today, Prospect Medical Holdings made the extremely difficult decision to begin winding down operations across our Crozer Health facilities,” the company said in a statement.

In a court filing, Prospect said the hospitals’ emergency departments would be diverting patients and elective inpatient admissions would end this week, with ambulatory services winding down next week. Prospect is also planning to transfer patients to other facilities.

Prospect thanked state officials for their work to avoid the closure.

“Unfortunately, we were unable to reach a viable alternative,” Prospect said. “At this time, the focus at Crozer Health remains on seamlessly transitioning patients to other health facilities so that they can continue to receive the critical, uninterrupted care they require, and to support Crozer Health team members as they seek to identify other employment opportunities.”

‘Blow to our communities’

Pennsylvania state lawmakers fumed after the announcement of Crozer Health’s closure Monday. The state and Delaware County had approved $20 million to help save Crozer in hopes of finding new ownership, and the Foundation for Delaware County had put up $20 million.

Despite those lifelines, a group of lawmakers from Delaware County said in a joint statement Monday, “There is no more cash or credit that can be tapped to keep Crozer operating.”

The lawmakers condemned Prospect Medical Holdings for closing the system.

“Prospect’s decision to move forward with the closure of the Crozer Health System is a devastating and disgraceful blow to our communities, our healthcare workers, and every patient who has ever relied on our local hospital system,” the lawmakers said.

“Prospect is willfully closing Crozer Health after state and local officials, regional health systems, and philanthropic partners exhausted their ability and financial resources to salvage the hospital system,” they said. “Yet again, Prospect decided to put profits over patients by putting Crozer’s assets up for auction.”

Crozer-Chester Medical Center, a 283-bed teaching hospital, operates a trauma center and a well-regarded burn treatment center. Taylor Hospital is a 107-bed acute care hospital. Combined, the two hospitals receive nearly 80,000 emergency department visits annually.

Crozer’s receiver, FTI Consulting, said in a statement, “We are disappointed an alternative resolution and sale could not be reached,” WPVI-TV reported. FTI referred additional questions to Prospect Medical Holdings.

Crozer Health has scaled back services in recent years, angering many in Delaware County. Crozer closed Delaware County Memorial Hospital in 2022. The system also ended acute care at Springfield Hospital in 2022, shifting to outpatient services on that campus.

‘They don’t have access’

Peggy Malone, a nurse at Crozer-Chester Medical Center, testified at a hearing before Pennsylvania lawmakers in March and warned that the closure of the hospital would be devastating to the community.

“Our patients, and as I have said many times before, they don’t have access,” Malone said at the March hearing. “They don’t have the ability to go anywhere else. We are close. They walk, they have family members drop them off.”

Joyann Kroser, MD, president of the medical staff of Crozer-Chester and Taylor hospitals, also spoke to lawmakers at that March hearing and described the difficulties clinicians faced in recent years, including shortages of supplies and equipment nearing the end of its lifespan. But she also stressed the commitment of staff and the importance of Crozer.

“The loss of our health system would do unfathomable harm to our patients and to the community,” Krozer said last month.

Delaware County lawmakers also pointed to mounting needs and liabilities at Crozer facilities, which they said contributed to “a nearly impossible situation for any nearby health system to take on without jeopardizing their own financial and patient health.”

The lawmakers also cited the possibility of steep cuts in federal aid as another factor likely making it difficult for another nearby hospital system to acquire Crozer.

“Bailing out Crozer became a problem without a solution,” the lawmakers said.

Prospect Medical Holdings filed for bankruptcy in January, with the company listing debts of more than $400 million.

Pennsylvania lawmakers pointed to Crozer’s closure as another example of private equity’s damaging impact on healthcare and local communities.

“Private equity’s decimation of Crozer is an abomination – the corporate abuse that our hospitals went through should be criminally illegal, and the investors and executives who did this to us should be held accountable,” the state lawmakers said in their joint statement.

Across the state, another hospital in western Pennsylvania will be closing its doors.

Heritage Valley Health System said this month that it is closing Heritage Valley Kennedy, a hospital in the Pittsburgh suburbs. The system cited low patient volume and declining reimbursement from insurance companies. Heritage Valley says it’s “temporarily” closing the hospital and consolidating services at other facilities.

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After more than 50 years with Heritage Valley Sewickley, the Valley Ambulance Authority is instead relying on physicians from Allegheny Health Network’s hospital in Wexford for authorization to treat patients in the field.

The switch happened March 1, but wasn’t officially announced until April 16.

“We saw that Allegheny Health Network was becoming the forefront of pre-hospital emergency medical services,” said Brian Herskovitz, the authority’s chief. “Heritage Valley Health System was a longstanding partner, however, we needed to continue to progress.”

For example, Allegheny Health Network Wexford has a physician response vehicle that can bring blood for on-scene transfusions.

Heritage Valley President and CEO Norm Mitry declined to comment.

Allegheny Health Network did not immediately return a request for comment.

EMTs and paramedics need permission from a doctor to administer some medications or perform certain procedures. Paramedics have more training than EMTs, giving them greater leeway in treating patients.

Herskovitz said the change in medical command services has no impact on where patients will be taken, adding, “the authority will continue to transport the patients to the most appropriate facility based on presentation.”

The authority’s relationship with Heritage Valley became less productive once the network bought NorthWest EMS several years back, according to Herskovitz. Non-emergency transports to the Sewickley hospital, once a reliable revenue generator for the authority, plummeted from about 1,500 a year to only a few.

The Valley Ambulance Authority serves Coraopolis, Crescent, Moon, Neville Island and certain parts of the Pittsburgh International Airport. Its sister organization, the Quaker Valley Ambulance Authority, covers Aleppo, Bell Acres, Edgeworth, Glenfield, Glen Osborne, Haysville, Leet, Leetsdale, Sewickley, Sewickley Heights and Sewickley Hills.

Though Quaker Valley is a separate organization, it’s staffed by Valley personnel. The switch to the Wexford hospital applies to both.

Heritage Valley is amid a transition of its own. At the end of June, it will close its Kennedy hospital due to declining patient activity and insufficient insurance reimbursements. Mitry told TribLive earlier this month the Sewickley hospital is here to stay and could, in fact, see higher usage going forward.

An online petition with more than 400 signatures urged Heritage Valley Health System to rethink its decision to discontinue several patient care services at Heritage Valley Kennedy Hospital. “My son was born here. A lot of my family’s been born here. It’s been our lives,” said Ed Niewierski, a longtime patient at Heritage Valley Kennedy Hospital. HVHS announced last week that the following services inside the Kennedy Township location will close temporarily beginning June 30. • Emergency Department • Inpatient Geriatric Behavioral Health and Adult Behavioral Health Units • Outpatient Surgery • Specialty diagnostic services • Pulmonary Rehabilitation For Niewierski, this means he will have to go elsewhere for his lung CAT scans. “The next closest hospital will be AGH (Allegheny General Hospital) across the river. This is convenient,” Niewierski said as he pointed to Heritage Valley Kennedy Hospital. According to HVHS, the services will be consolidated to their Sewickley and Beaver locations. “From what I’m told, we’ll either have to go to Allegheny General or we’ll have to go to Sewickley Valley Hospital (Heritage Valley Sewickley). But either one is, you know, miles away when this is right in our backyard, two miles away from home,” said HVHS patient, Ian Tomei. Allegheny County Council President Patrick Catena said he is cautiously optimistic about the facility’s future. “I’m still hopeful that Heritage Valley can still work something out. They characterized this as a ‘temporary closure,’” said Catena, who represents Kennedy Township. “…It’s not like they’re totally leaving.”The healthcare system pointed to a decline in patient activity and the reduction in provider reimbursements as reasons for the upcoming change. “I hope they don’t do this. I hope that somehow, some way they can keep this open,” Niewierski said. HVHS said in a news release last week that employees in good standing will be offered jobs at other locations or will be provided with a severance package. We reached out to HVHS CEO Norman Mitry for an interview, but he said he didn’t have any new information to add.

An online petition with more than 400 signatures urged Heritage Valley Health System to rethink its decision to discontinue several patient care services at Heritage Valley Kennedy Hospital.

“My son was born here. A lot of my family’s been born here. It’s been our lives,” said Ed Niewierski, a longtime patient at Heritage Valley Kennedy Hospital.

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HVHS announced last week that the following services inside the Kennedy Township location will close temporarily beginning June 30.

• Emergency Department

• Inpatient Geriatric Behavioral Health and Adult Behavioral Health Units

• Outpatient Surgery

• Specialty diagnostic services

• Pulmonary Rehabilitation

For Niewierski, this means he will have to go elsewhere for his lung CAT scans.

“The next closest hospital will be AGH (Allegheny General Hospital) across the river. This is convenient,” Niewierski said as he pointed to Heritage Valley Kennedy Hospital.

According to HVHS, the services will be consolidated to their Sewickley and Beaver locations.

“From what I’m told, we’ll either have to go to Allegheny General or we’ll have to go to Sewickley Valley Hospital (Heritage Valley Sewickley). But either one is, you know, miles away when this is right in our backyard, two miles away from home,” said HVHS patient, Ian Tomei.

Allegheny County Council President Patrick Catena said he is cautiously optimistic about the facility’s future.

“I’m still hopeful that Heritage Valley can still work something out. They characterized this as a ‘temporary closure,’” said Catena, who represents Kennedy Township. “…It’s not like they’re totally leaving.”

The healthcare system pointed to a decline in patient activity and the reduction in provider reimbursements as reasons for the upcoming change.

“I hope they don’t do this. I hope that somehow, some way they can keep this open,” Niewierski said.

HVHS said in a news release last week that employees in good standing will be offered jobs at other locations or will be provided with a severance package.

We reached out to HVHS CEO Norman Mitry for an interview, but he said he didn’t have any new information to add.