AHN replacing Canonsburg hospital in Cecil’s Southpointe II business park
Allegheny Health Network announced Thursday that it’s building a new hospital in Cecil to replace its aging Canonsburg hospital — a major investment in the fast-growing area of Washington County. Construction is expected to start in early 2027 with an anticipated opening in 2029. The roughly 150,000-square-foot facility will sit...
UPMC hopes $85M addition to Children’s Hospital becomes global destination for cardiac care
Athena Becker has undergone six cardiac catheterizations at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, one for each year she’s been alive. A seventh is likely on the horizon for her as doctors continue to monitor and repair a birth defect that makes it harder for her heart to pump blood to...
Allegheny County residents, business owners clash over impact of proposed paid parental leave
An ambitious proposal to require 18 weeks of paid parental leave for workers in Allegheny County drew overwhelming public interest Tuesday as more than 80 people signed up to speak at a public hearing on a measure that could reshape workplace benefits across the county. The proposal, under consideration by...
Highmark accuses companies of $4M fraud in resolving patients’ unexpected bills
Highmark sued a pair of medical companies Monday, accusing them of exploiting a consumer protection law to collect nearly $4 million in fraudulent insurance payouts across more than 400 claims. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Pittsburgh, claims Philadelphia-area neurodiagnostics company Bromedicon and Texas-based HaloMD coordinated to game the...
Recess is disappearing. Pediatricians say that’s a problemVideo
Tyler Roberto needs only a few seconds to scan across Crafton Elementary’s school playground to highlight the lessons she sees students learning during recess. On the blacktop, a group of second grade boys talk to each other to work out an issue during a kickball game, notes Roberto, the school’s...
Westmoreland County overdose deaths drop to lowest level in more than a decade
Drug overdose deaths in Westmoreland County plummeted last year to their lowest level in more than a decade, according to a report from Coroner John Ackerman. The data revealed 72 people died from drug overdoses in the county last year, continuing a four-year decline that officials said indicates education and...
Allegheny County’s ambitious paid parental leave proposal heads to public hearing
A public hearing Tuesday could shape whether Allegheny County health officials stand by their ambitious plan to mandate more than four months of paid time off for new parents and create one of the strongest parental leave programs in the U.S. “We want to hear from everyone who has comments...
What to know about the Bundibugyo virus, a species of Ebola causing an outbreak in Congo
The virus causing an outbreak in Congo suspected of killing more than 200 people is less common than others that cause Ebola disease, which is complicating the response, because there are no specific treatments or vaccines. “There’s nothing even close to ready for clinical trials,” said Dr. Celine Gounder, an...
Experimental pill promises new hope for deadly pancreatic cancer
WASHINGTON — A novel pill helped people with advanced pancreatic cancer live longer, researchers reported Sunday, raising hopes of long-needed better treatments for one of the deadliest types of cancer. “While not curing the cancer, it is a very large step forward,” said Dr. Zev Wainberg, of the University of...
Western Pennsylvania experts offer tips on exercising outdoors
Tom Bracken has been an avid exerciser for decades. When the region’s weather turns warmer in the spring and summer, he adds walking and biking to his year-round weight-lifting, spinning, yoga and more. He’s picked up some crucial safety tips along the way — once when he almost got hit...
Fox Chapel woman’s battle with melanoma included immunotherapy
Christy Redican grew up in Connecticut, spending summers sailing and playing tennis. “I was a sun worshipper,” she said. “I did all the things you’re not supposed to do. I have fair skin, blonde hair and light eyes. I burned a lot.” Redican, 58, now of Fox Chapel, thought she...
In a Heartbeat: Dr. Kelsie Vander Voort talks the importance of physical therapy
The issue Despite physical therapy being a foundational piece of healthcare in terms of rehabilitating the body following numerous types of injury and surgery, a study published in the National Library of Medicine in 2022 revealed that only 43% of patients with lower back pain fully adhered to their prescribed...
Rotarian’s cycling journey — in cross-country route spelling ‘Help!’ — draws awareness for American Cancer Society volunteer needVideo
Cancer treatment and the technology and pharmacology that fosters it has come a long way over the decades. But cancer patients, especially those who are elderly or disabled, can’t always get to their appointments on their own. “All the technology in the world doesn’t help if someone can’t get to...
UPMC, Highmark enjoy strong 1st quarter as health insurance premiums rise
UPMC finances held strong while Highmark started to bounce back from a tough 2025, according to first-quarter earnings released this week by the Pittsburgh-based health insurers and hospital networks. The organizations’ overall results were remarkably similar. UPMC made an operating profit of $261 million on $8.4 billion in revenue, and...
About 8% of the country lacked health insurance in 2025, new data shows. That could rise next year
NEW YORK — The proportion of Americans without health insurance held steady at around 8% of the population in 2025, according to new findings from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The national survey results, released Thursday, show the all-ages uninsured rate has stayed significantly down from where...
Aid supplies reach heart of Congo’s Ebola outbreak as WHO head travels to Kinshasa
BUNAI, Congo — Aid supplies were rushed in to the center of Congo’s outbreak of a rare type of Ebola virus as beleaguered medical workers have struggled with a lack of equipment, a distrustful population and armed groups in a volatile region. A white cargo plane on Thursday morning delivered...
Allegheny County’s Area Agency on Aging receives mixed scores in state evaluation
Amid budget shortfalls, Allegheny County’s Area Agency on Aging earned high marks in a state-conducted evaluation in several senior service programs. At the same time, it fell well below state standards in parts of its protective services operations. There are 52 Area Agencies on Aging throughout Pennsylvania, run by counties....
Trump will send Americans exposed to Ebola while abroad to a new facility in Kenya
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to send Americans who are exposed to Ebola while abroad to a new facility in Kenya instead of flying them to the United States, an administration official said Wednesday. The quarantine and treatment center being set up by the Departments of...
How Congo is battling an Ebola outbreak complicated by aid cuts, armed rebels and anger
KINSHASA, Congo — Arson attacks on Ebola treatment centers in eastern Congo underscore the serious challenges authorities face — including a backlash in local communities — as they try to stem an outbreak of the infectious disease that has been declared a global health emergency. On Sunday, Congolese authorities said...
In a heartbeat: UPMC’s Dr. Saba helps ground against the shock of abnormal EKGs
The issue An abnormal EKG result can be a shock to the system. Dr. Samir Saba, co-director of the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute and chief of the Division of Cardiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, is here to help ground you in knowledge. Q: What does...
New cholesterol guidelines include earlier screenings, targeted intervention
New guidelines by the American Heart Association urge people to check their cholesterol earlier in life — in some cases, as young as toddlers — to stave off heart disease. Recommendations, in conjunction with the American College of Cardiology and updated in March for the first time since 2018, include...
Pittsburgh pain experts explain implications of new, potentially non-addictive, opioid tested in rodents
A novel opioid developed by National Institutes of Health researchers has shown early potential to deliver powerful pain relief without the addiction and respiratory risks tied to conventional opioids, according to a study published in the science journal Nature. The compound known as DFNZ — formally N-desethyl-fluornitrazene — relieved pain...
Delayed air quality permits from state, Allegheny County raise concerns about pollution
A new analysis by the Group Against Smog and Pollution found the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is late to issue at least 15 air quality permits, raising concerns that some of the state’s most prolific polluters may be operating without adequate oversight. Facilities that create significant air pollution must...
Minimum payments for filling prescriptions would aid pharmacies, Pa. insurance department says
A report released Thursday by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department shows setting a minimum payment to pharmacies for dispensing drugs would help stabilize small drugstores without substantially raising medication prices. Pharmacies are primarily paid for their work by pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, which are hired by insurers to oversee prescription...
FDA staff blindsided by move allowing more e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches onto U.S. market
WASHINGTON — Senior officials in the Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco center were blindsided by a recent decision that opens the door to allowing more unauthorized electronic cigarettes and nicotine pouches onto the U.S. market, The Associated Press has learned. The guidelines, posted online earlier this month before former FDA...
