UPMC unveils sweeping $2 billion plan to build 3 hospitals in Pittsburgh

Health giant UPMC announced Friday it will invest $2 billion as part of a monumental expansion that includes building three specialty hospitals in Pittsburgh focused on cancer, organ transplants, and heart and vision care.

UPMC President and CEO Jeffrey Romoff said the hospitals will be built on the campuses of UPMC Presbyterian in Oakland, UPMC Mercy in Uptown and UPMC Shadyside.

"UPMC desires to be the Amazon of health care," Romoff said during a press conference to unveil the project.

Officials said the project, which will be developed over the next four years, will provide patients access to cutting edge care with state of the art medical technology.

"Our transformative vision will make available the most innovative treatments for cancer, heart disease, transplantation, diseases of aging, vision restoration and rehabilitation, among many others," Romoff said. "Working in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, we will radically change health care as we know it to provide personalized, effective and compassionate care."

Designs for the hospitals in Oakland and Shadyside will be selected in an international design competition. UPMC said it is collaborating with software giant Microsoft to apply new technology to the hospitals, but offered few details.

"UPMC and Microsoft will have more to share in the coming months," Romoff said.

Friday's announcement comes about two weeks after rival Allegheny Health Network and Highmark Health announced a $700 million expansion plan to build a new hospital in Pine and four smaller hospitals around the region.

Here is a look at the three hospitals expected to open within the next five years.

UPMC Heart and Transplant Hospital at UPMC Presbyterian

Location: On the site of the former Children's Hospital along Fifth Avenue in Oakland

Size: 940,00 square feet, 15 stories, 620 private patient rooms

Specialty: Organ transplantation, heart and vascular care

What it means for patients: Modern facilities for organ transplants, one of UPMC's claims to fame. UPMC already has a prominent reputation in the field, backed by the legend of Dr. Thomas Starzl, known as the father of organ transplantation.

Expected opening date: Possibly by 2022

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UPMC Hillman Cancer Hospital at UPMC Shadyside

Location: Across from the Hillman Cancer Center, which opened in 2002

Size: 240,000 square-foot inpatient tower; 160,000 square-foot outpatient building

Specialty: Cancer treatment

What it means for patients: Continued cutting-edge treatments for cancer through the evolution of immunotherapy, which stimulates a patient's immune system to attack its own cancer cells.

Expected opening date: 2022

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UPMC Vision and Rehabilitation Hospital at UPMC Mercy

Location: Adjacent to UPMC Mercy in Pittsburgh's Uptown neighborhood

Size: 300,000 square feet

Speciality: Clinical vision care

What it means for patients: Experts are pursuing new research for eye diseases and vision restoration along with technology-assisted rehabilitation services to help restore mobility for people with physical and cognitive ailments.

Expected opening date: 2020

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Ben Schmitt is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7991, bschmitt@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Bencschmitt.