TYRONE – Officials at the Tyrone Hospital announced yesterday that they have created the Tyrone Regional Health Network (TRHN), a new name being given to describe the collaborative, community-based healthcare offered through the hospital and all its affiliates across the region.
Also announced were plans for a 38,000 square foot expansion to Tyrone Hospital and a capital campaign to be launched by the Tyrone Hospital Foundation to support the project. The announcement was made during a press conference.
The TRHN is a group of healthcare and other service providers that work together with Tyrone Hospital to provide affordable, high-quality healthcare to the communities it serves in central Pennsylvania.
“The Tyrone Regional Health Network developed as a result of the hospital’s growth and the broad and varied relationships it has formed with physicians, and other entities over the last few years,” said Kelly Wike, president of the Tyrone Hospital Board of Directors.
“We are now an organization with broader geographic reach and multiple collaborative partners. We are not a stand-alone organization, and our new name better reflects what we are doing and what we are about.”
TRHN consists of Tyrone Hospital, which is a general medical and surgical community hospital with 24-hour emergency services; several primary care physician practices, which include Tyrone Medical Associates, the Tyrone Hospital Rural Health Clinic, both located on the Tyrone campus; Bellmeade Family Medicine in the Bellmeade area of Altoona; Toftrees Family Medicine in State College; a Rural Health Center in Houtzdale; the Tyrone Fitness and Wellness Center; and the Breast Cancer & Women’s Health Institute.
There is a growing variety of physician specialists in the network many of whom reside directly on the hospital’s campus, including gynecology, breast surgery, general surgery, ophthalmology, optometry, nephrology, orthopedic surgery, physiatry, podiatry, cardiology, gastroenterology, ENT and others.
Organizations with expertise in rehabilitation, fitness, occupational health and home health are among the expanding group of providers that form the network.
Stephen C. Gildea, FACHE, chief executive officer of Tyrone Hospital, offered ProCare, University Orthopedics Center and Blair Orthopedics as successful examples of collaboration at Tyrone.
“We have had a long and very productive relationship with these outstanding providers. ProCare provides the rehabilitation services at Tyrone Hospital. It was through a partnership with ProCare that the Tyrone Fitness and Wellness Center was developed,” he said.
“Our orthopedic clinic is staffed by physicians from University Orthopedics Center and Blair Orthopedics and both practices also perform surgery here.”
The TRHN has adopted a new logo, which consists of a moving circle, a representation of the evolution and growth that will continue to occur to meet the health needs of area residents.
Gildea said TRHN is willing to work with any health provider or physician who is committed to the same values and goals to provide affordable, high-quality care to patients served by the network.
“Our collaborative approach allows providers to remain independent while enjoying the benefits and support associated with being part of a network,” he said.
The formation of the TRHN does not affect the jobs of current hospital employees. Gildea held meetings with hospital staff earlier in the week to explain that the announcement regarding TRHN does not change the policies or procedures employees follow on a daily basis and to answer any questions directly.
The planned hospital expansion will provide a new emergency department and additional space for growing outpatient and surgical services. Gildea said more space will allow some departments to be better situated to make access even easier for patients. The Tyrone Hospital Foundation will soon launch a capital campaign to support the expansion project.
Gildea said “Tyrone is a community hospital and the hospital is at the center of Tyrone Regional Health Network. We continue to fulfill our caring mission in that capacity.”