The Chamber of Commerce business after hours hosted UPMC Kane’s annual meeting at Logyard Brewing last Thursday for an update from hospital President Mark Papalia.

Papalia opened the meeting stating, “Healthcare has changed and we must be able to advance ourselves with those changes. We are grateful for the past and present commitment of physicians, board and staff; honoring more than a century of healthcare delivery to the Kane community.”

A big win for UPMC Kane this year has been recruiting physicians.

“ACHE survey 2021 survey published in 2022 ranks top concerns among hospital CEOs. CEOs ranked 11 issues, staffing is the number one concern surpassing financial challenges which had led the rankings since 2004,” said Papalia.

They have welcomed Dr. Moe Moral, orthopedic surgeon who took over for Dr. Kostopolous and Dr. Dien Le, Internal Medicine who took over for Dr. Suddle. Moral is personable, friendly and welcoming. Le had only been onboard for a day or two at the time of the meeting, but was ready to get started. Both providers practice in Kane and are accepting new patients.

Another win for one of UPMC Kane’s physicians was to be nominated for the Physician Excellence — Senior Clinician Excellence Award. Dr. Peng, Pain Management, was honored with this nomination during the annual meeting.

The award honors physicians with more than 10 years of clinical practice who demonstrate clinical excellence, have made exceptional contributions to the clinical mission of UPMC, consistently achieves high standards in the practice of medicine, and displays exceptional teamwork, engagement, and passion for medicine.

Papalia said, “Physician recruitment is a huge challenge across the nation. These physician’s could go anywhere and have chosen Kane to be where they want to practice.” He also congratulated Peng for his service and the nomination.

UPMC Kane is a participant in the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (PARHM), a joint effort between the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) that provides financial stability to rural Pa. hospitals transitioning to value-based care through global budget payments.

PARHM is aimed at developing innovative models to sustain every level of activity in rural communities, with the highest levels of quality and patient safety, and in a way that reduces costs. This provides a long-standing financially viable model.

“We were one of five hospitals to join PARHM in 2019,” said Papalia.

UPMC Kane has been transforming the second floor of the hospital as part of its capital investments. These investments represent the commitment of UPMC to providing and sustaining essential services to Kane and McKean County. The transformation will house care facilities in one place. Papalia said, “Clinic consolidation allows us to operate the most efficiently while providing a convenient one-stop shop. Patients needing labs, diagnostics, etc… All right here in the same location.”

Efforts with telemedicine have also been key to improving care and patient satisfaction. The tele-emergency department started in January of 2022.

“Emergycare maintains an ACLS Ambulance and EMS crew at UPMC Kane on a 24-7-365 basis for immediate ground transport to UPMC Hamot. STAT MedEvac has three aircraft within 21 minutes of UPMC Kane. The flight time to Hamot is 26 minutes,” said Papalia.

Telemed has come a long way since the pandemic first started. UPMC Kane has had access to a telehospitalist since 2021 and now patients have access to specialists without having to leave the Kane area. Board-certified specialists in Outpatient Specialty Clinics, Cardiology, Pulmonology, Neurology, Infectious Disease, deliver care to UPMC Kane patients virtually through high-resolution cameras and digital stethoscopes and otoscopes.

Papalia said, “(Telemed) provides live consults in the patient’s room, working in collaboration with the patients attending physician. It opens the door for other specialties as well.”

Don Payne, board chair and member for more than 30 years, said, “there are 22 hospitals in the model, Kane is ranked number one in advancements and innovation. Mark is too humble.”

But it’s not only about taking care of the patients. Caring for the community includes taking care of the staff and understanding the economy. In many cases hospitals are amongst the largest employers in rural communities, which is certainly the case in Kane.

Papalia addressed this by stating, “Not only do we provide high quality jobs, we support the economy through “ripple effects,” annual payroll over $10 million in salary and wages. Employees use these dollars to purchase goods and services here in the Kane community.”

UPMC Kane cares for the community by providing care for the region.

In Fiscal Year 2021, UPMC Kane contributed $1.8 million in community benefits and dedicated $1.3 million of that amount to care for those without means to pay.

The hospital also supports programs that enhance the health of the community; many of which address health priorities identified in UPMC Kane’s Community Health Needs Assessment.

Fueling the region’s economy, UPMC Kane’s annual economic impact to the region is $35 million. In order to keep up with all the improvements and innovations, the hospital relies on grants. To date, UPMC Kane has received $1,085,434.