PITTSBURGH (AP) — West Penn Allegheny Health System plans to spend $20 million to upgrade a hospital in a Pittsburgh suburb where a larger rival network is planning to open a new hospital later this year.
West Penn officials said Tuesday the improvements at Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville, about 15 miles east of the city, will include enhanced surgical units, a new breast care center and the beginning of an effort to get the hospital accredited as a Level 2 trauma center. The state designation means the hospital would offer advanced treatment of trauma injuries.
West Penn's larger rival, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, also plans to open a new hospital in Monroeville, UPMC East.
Recommended For You
West Penn officials had planned to announce the improvements to Forbes Regional Hospital last week, but the announcement was postponed to Wednesday when an auditor announced West Penn lost $51.8 million in the most recent fiscal year, which ended June 30.
Pittsburgh-based Health insurer Highmark Inc. has agreed to acquire West Penn Allegheny and contribute $475 million to improvements, but the audit report said there's no guarantee those plans can be implemented effectively. After the audit results were released, West Penn said it would delay the opening of a Temple University medical school campus at the health system until regulators approve the Highmark deal.
UPMC is spending $240 million on its new 156-bed hospital less than a mile away from Forbes Regional, boasting amenities such as room service and flat-screen monitors from which patients can check email. The hospital is scheduled to open in July.
Forbes, which opened in 1978, has 350 beds and annually admits more than 14,000 patients while providing approximately 50,000 emergency room visits. The hospital has a neonatal intensive care unit and delivers more than 1,000 babies each year.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
