DUBOIS – Penn Highlands Healthcare is opening a new $24.3 million state-of-the-art Center of Excellence on the campus of Penn Highlands DuBois West.
The four-story complex will serve as the hub of the health system’s outpatient Neuroscience, Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Rehabilitation, Gynecology/Obstetrics and Pediatrics services in DuBois.
The Center of Excellence, which is located at 123 Hospital Ave., in DuBois, provides convenient and easy access for patients, as well as innovative therapies delivered with advanced technology. The patient-centric complex is designed for patient comfort and convenience.
One of the most advanced features of the center is the self-rooming technology that is being used in the Women and Children’s Center on the second floor for greater efficiency.
This center includes Penn Highlands Life’s Journey OB/GYN, Penn Highlands Perinatology and Penn Highlands Pediatrics. Upon registration, patients are given a tracking badge that directs them to an exam room.
Each exam room has two entrances which are located on different sides of the room – one for patients and the other for staff. The tracking system alerts providers when a room is occupied and ready for them to enter.
The center offers women complete gynecological and obstetrical care in a comfortable atmosphere as well as Penn Highlands Perinatology for mothers with high-risk pregnancies who require more specialized care. In addition, Penn Highlands Pediatrics provides care for all ages of children and adolescents for a wide variety of conditions.
The first floor houses the Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Center, where Penn Highlands orthopedic providers deliver specialized care for all types of joint, bone and muscle issues.
The center has imaging services onsite to capture patient x-rays. The Rehabilitation Center’s outpatient therapies suite is staffed by skilled professionals who help people of all ages and abilities regain function through physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.
The Rehabilitation Center offers state-of-the art equipment to help maximize recovery along with ample space for therapeutic exercise. Added features include aqua therapy and private treatment areas.
The ground floor houses the Penn Highlands Neuroscience suite where expert neurology and neurosurgery specialists help improve the quality of life for patients suffering from disorders of the brain and nervous system.
The suite includes PH Neurology, PH Neurosurgery and Rehabilitation Disorder Services.
The building has two entrances. Patients can enter on the ground floor, which provides easy access to the Medical Arts Building for lab testing, or on the first floor.
The third floor provides approximately 25,000 square feet available for future outpatient services.
In remarks during a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by local government, community and corporate leaders on Nov. 4, John Sutika, president of Penn Highlands DuBois said, “This Center of Excellence is a testament to our commitment to this community.
“I am confident that the Penn Highlands Center of Excellence will be an invaluable asset that the people of this region will be able to rely on for decades to come.”
Also, during the event, Karin Pfingstler, system executive director of fund development, thanked the community as well as major donors who helped make the Center of Excellence a reality.
“Penn Highlands Healthcare has made the commitment, indeed the choice, to provide quality healthcare services in this region,” said Pfingstler.
“Many people made the choice to provide financial contributions to this project; among the contributors are the Sekula Family in honor of their mother and grandmother, Yolanda M. “Yola” Sekula; George Fatula Sr., MD, and Leonard S. Fiore, Inc. The donors have chosen to support the Penn Highlands Center of Excellence by helping to be the change they wanted to see in the world.”
Penn Highlands Pediatrics is currently seeing patients in the Center of Excellence. The other service lines are expected to welcome patients in the near future.
The Penn Highlands Center of Excellence is part of the health system’s $180 million Master Facilities Plan to enhance access to critical services and advanced care for the residents of Pennsylvania.
The plan triggered eight major expansion and renovation projects to modernize, improve and expand upon the services offered to patients at Penn Highlands hospitals in Brookville, Clearfield and DuBois as well as Penn Highlands Pinecrest Manor and the construction of a Community Medical Building in Clarion.
The plan also includes construction of a new hospital in State College for which ground was broken this past spring. Other recent projects include a new Community Medical Building in Punxsutawney.
