Health giant UPMC will add 815 new full-time jobs through next June, officials announced yesterday after posting a strong first-quarter income.
More than half of the jobs -- or about 430 -- will be throughout UPMC's network of 20 hospitals. They include physicians, nurses, food service workers, housekeepers and administrators, said Rob DeMichiei, senior vice president and chief financial officer.
The ability to add new jobs during tough financial times is a reflection of cost-cutting actions taken about two years ago and a 10 percent surge in outpatient services and other areas, DeMichiei said.
"We're being very judicious in managing costs while at the same time seeing volume increases," DeMichiei told reporters at UPMC headquarters, Downtown. "We're seeing increases in our volume, and we're staffing accordingly."
Officials said first-quarter operating revenues grew by $77 million to $2.1 billion, with operating income, or profit, of $93 million from July through October, up $28 million from the same period a year before. The fiscal year started July 1 and ends June 30.
UPMC, the region's largest employer, has about 50,000 workers. In 2008, officials cut about 500 workers to shave about $63 million from the $1.26 billion it paid in salaries.
About 270 jobs will be added at the UPMC Health Plan because of a 5 percent increase in membership and to support new dental and vision products.
Up to 80 jobs will be added in corporate areas such as information technology to support the transition to electronic medical records.
Another 40 jobs will be created in its international division, but most will be based in Western Pennsylvania. Officials said 257 jobs were created during the first quarter.
Adding new jobs is a positive development but not all that unusual in Western Pennsylvania, where there is demand for primary care, said Patricia Raffaele, vice president for advocacy and communications at Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania.
"You hear about hospitals laying off or restructuring but a lot of those positions are usually management or non-clinical," Raffaele said, noting an across-the-board surge in full-time jobs in hospitals and nursing homes. "When it comes to primary care or clinical positions, there are openings."
UPMC is on track to spend about $500 million in capital improvements, an 11 percent increase from the prior year, DeMichiei said. About $100 million will go toward implementing electronic medical records.
Improvements are planned at several hospitals including a $40 million renovation of the emergency departments and operating rooms at UPMC Presbyterian and UPMC Shadyside. UPMC Mercy, Uptown, which has seen a steady flow of patients since it merged with UPMC nearly three years ago, will spend about $20 million for renovations.
A $20 million renovation at Magee-Womens Hospital in Oakland will add 12 intensive care beds and 28 medical surgical beds. About $60 million is being allocated to build UPMC East in Monroeville, a full-scale, acute care hospital slated to open in 2012.
