History
Hospital Overview
Grove City Medical Center is a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation and is recognized under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as a charitable organization. The Hospital currently is licensed to operate 95 acute care beds and 20 skilled nursing beds. Grove City Medical Center is located on a 7.5 acre tract of land in Mercer County approximately 60 miles north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in Pine Township. The Hospital serves communities within an approximate twenty-mile radius of the Hospital.
History and Background
was formed on April 15, 1978, through a consolidation between the Bashline Health Care Management Corporation, former owner and operator of the Bashline Memorial Hospital (95 bed facility) and the Grove City Hospital, the previous owner and operator of an 83 bed facility. Subsequent to the consolidation, services continued to be rendered at the respective facilities, under the new corporation, until a new structure was completed in 1981. At that time the facility was a 128-bed acute care facility containing approximately 98,000 square feet.
In 1993, United Community Hospital completed a $5 million expansion resulting in 36,000 square feet of new space and 6,000 square feet of remodeled space. The expansion resulted in a new front Lobby/Registration Area, Volunteer Gift Shop, Physical Therapy Area, Ambulatory Surgery Center, Education Center, and a Medical Office Building. The Medical Imaging and Emergency Departments were enlarged and remodeled.
Two years later, the Hospital completed a renovation and expansion of the Maternal Child Health Department. The department now consists of two new birthing rooms, a delivery room for complicated deliveries, an exam/treatment room, new nurses stations for both the nursery and obstetrical area, eleven private patient rooms and a new waiting area for fathers.
The Transitional Care Center was added in 1996, using existing space on the second floor. The Center offers skilled nursing care for patients requiring additional care following an acute care stay prior to being discharged to home, nursing home, or rehabilitation center. At that time the Hospital became licensed for 95 acute care beds and 20 transitional care beds.
In 1997, Dialysis Clinic Inc. (DCI) renovated 6,000 square feet of the undeveloped shell space remaining from the 1993 expansion. The renovation was completed at DCI’s expense and the non-profit organization continues to pay rent to UCH. DCI provides comprehensive, individualized treatment and care for patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).
In its ongoing effort to keep UCH's medical imaging capabilities current with advancing technology, the hospital installed a new General Electric Lightspeed Plus Computed Tomography (CT) Scanner and a GE High Speed Plus MRI system in 2002. In order to meet specifications for the new equipment, the medical imaging department underwent extensive renovations. The new technology led to faster and more precise CT and MRI studies, greater comfort for patients, and made new diagnostic procedures possible.
Striving for more convenience for its patients, UCH has opened four outpatient centers in Butler and Mercer Counties since 2001. The outpatient centers are located in Sandy Lake, Grove City, Slippery Rock, and Clintonville and provide patients better access to healthcare services.
A new era for UCH began in 2003 with the installation of a heart catheterization lab. David Lasorda, DO, FACP, FACC, FSCAI, a leading cardiologist in Western PA, and his team are now performing low-risk cardiac catheterization at United Community Hospital, an important diagnostic procedure to detect heart disease.
Please click here to view an old postcard from the Bashline-Rossman Osteopathic Hospital and Clinic.
Hospital Affiliations
In 1988 United Community Hospital became part owner (25%) of the Life Care Cancer Center in Stoneboro, PA. The Life Care Cancer Center provides out-patient radiation treatments and houses an Elektra accelerator, simulator, computer planning system and the capability to construct customized lead shields.
In June 1997, United Community Hospital signed an affiliation agreement with the UPMC Health System, formerly known as the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center ("UPMC"). This affiliation has enabled the Hospital and its affiliates to become part of a larger network. The network is essential in the managed care market.