https://archive.triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/pittsburgh-city-council-postpones-vote-on-new-upmc-hospital-while-mayor-backs-plan/
Pittsburgh City Council postpones vote on new UPMC hospital while mayor backs plan
A rendering of the Mercy Vision and Rehabilitation Hospital planned for UPMC’s Mercy Hospital complex in Uptown.
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday postponed a vote until next week on UPMC’s plans for a vision and rehabilitation hospital at its Mercy complex in Uptown.
The project is part of a $2 billion expansion that UPMC announced last year and requires council’s approval.
It drew heavy criticism from a majority of several hundred people who packed council chambers last week during a public hearing on the plan. They called on council to reject the plan until UPMC guarantees all Pittsburghers access to health care, the right for UPMC employees to form a union and minimum wages of $15 per hour or higher, among other things.
Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle of the Hill District requested the postponement, saying he is attempting to negotiate an agreement with UPMC that would meet those demands. Council has scheduled a vote for next week Tuesday, July 31.
“We’re talking. That’s all I can say right now,” Lavelle said.
Mayor Bill Peduto weighed in for a first time on Tuesday, saying he supports the new hospital.
“I support plans for the new Mercy Vision and Rehabilitation Hospital because of the world-class and unparalleled vision and therapeutic services it will provide critically ill patients, and the transformative effect it will have on Uptown and the Hill District,” Peduto said in a statement.
The mayor said the hospital would serve as an anchor for a planned “EcoInnovation” corridor through Uptown, the Hill and Oakland. The corridor is a community plan designed to improve the environment, expand entrepreneurship and job growth and suit the needs of residents.
Peduto said the project would create “good union jobs for local residents,” and he would ensure that UPMC observes commitments to hire local residents for jobs at the hospital.
“UPMC has long supported Mercy Hospital’s mission of helping those in need in Uptown and the greater Pittsburgh community and continued to invest in the institution despite ongoing budget pressures,” he said. “The new hospital will cement the long-term presence of Mercy in the community.”
Bob Bauder is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bob at 412-765-2312, bbauder@tribweb.com or via Twitter @bobbauder.
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