Allegheny Health Network's Braddock Urgent Care Center open for business
Phyllis Brown was disgusted when the UPMC Braddock hospital was demolished in 2010.
“We have a lot of seniors here,” said Brown, 73, a lifelong Braddock resident. “They were like, ‘What are we going to do?' ”
After five years without a hospital, residents, community leaders and health officials celebrated the opening of an urgent care clinic Monday in Braddock.
The Allegheny Health Network's Braddock Urgent Care Center has 12 exam rooms and four doctors and offers treatment for minor ailments and injuries as well as X-ray imaging, blood work and other diagnostic services.
Brown said the clinic's opening is a new beginning.
It represents a re-emergence of close-to-home health services for the 2,100 people who live in the borough, said Patricia Liebman, AHN's chief operating officer.
“We believe everyone in our region should have the opportunity to lead healthier, happier lives,” she said at the facility's ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Pam Sanford, 47, lives across the street from the new clinic. She recently took her children to neighboring Monroeville — about six miles away — to get a tuberculosis shot.
“Now that this is open,” she said, “we don't have far to go.”
The clinic is at 501 Braddock Ave., built on what was the parking lot of UPMC Braddock. The center is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends. Patients began using the facility Monday.
“We are truly committed to the community and making a difference and to provide quality health care and make it affordable,” said David Holm-berg, president and CEO of Highmark Health, AHN's parent company.
UPMC Braddock closed in 2010 because hospital officials said it was underused. The community expressed outrage, and several groups sued unsuccessfully to try to block the hospital's demolition.
Dr. Mitch McCandlish, Braddock Urgent Care's medical director, said 10,000 patients are expected to visit the clinic this year.
The new facility is part of a $20.3 million redevelopment that includes a housing complex, community park and office and retail space. The project included both public and private money.
“When the private sector, nonprofits, government and communities work together, great things can happen,” Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said. “This urgent care center is a perfect example of stakeholders working together to benefit the community.”
Tony Raap is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7827 or traap@tribweb.com.
