Last week WCA Hospital and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) announced that the integration agreement was finalized and approved by New York State.  The move allows WCA to integrate into the UPMC network. The change also brings a new name to WCA, which will now be known as UPMC Chautauqua WCA.

UPMC Chautauqua WCA is the first New York State hospital and the first hospital outside of Pennsylvania to integrate with world-renowned UPMC, based in Pittsburgh.

As part of the signed agreement, UPMC will invest at least $25 million over the next 10 years to support WCA’s mission. UPMC also has agreed to relieve WCA’s debt and cover its pension obligations, freeing up significant additional monies for WCA development.

UPMC Chautauqua WCA will continue to operate as an acute-care community hospital providing high-quality inpatient, outpatient and emergency department services to the Chautauqua County region.

WCA President/CEO Betsy Wright said the move positions to hospital to become stronger than ever, calling the integration the culmination of a five-year process of assessing the future of health care for Jamestown and meeting the challenges of today’s evolving health care industry.

According to a media release from Senator Cathy Young, the Olean Republican was able to secure a $350,000 capital grant in the state budget to establish a supportive housing program at WCA Hospital’s Jones Hill location in Jamestown.

Young said the new program will be a big step towards addressing the region’s opioid and heroin epidemic, placing people with addiction problems in a specialized housing facility instead of the county jail.

Young said that Southern Tier Environments for Living Inc. (STEL) – a private, non-profit agency that has been providing rehabilitative and support services to people with psychiatric disabilities in Erie, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany Counties for over 30 years – is working on developing the new program for supportive housing for the mentally ill and those with chemical abuse disorders who have entered the corrections system in Chautauqua County. She also said she will personally advocate for the supportive housing project to make it through the final approval process.

According to Young, the initiative will give people struggling with addiction alternatives to incarceration – while also helping alleviate overcrowding at the county jail that is costing local taxpayers about $1 million a year.