Stephen Wolfe, President & CEO, Indiana Regional Medical Center

In an interview with Invest:, Stephen Wolfe, president and CEO of Indiana Regional Medical Center, discussed the new behavioral health facility alongside the residency initiatives built to support workforce development in the region. “We are also looking at establishing some other residency programs, and we have filed for a HRSA grant to potentially start a psychiatry residency program,” Wolfe added. 

What has been the most significant change at Indiana Regional Medical Center?

We have added another hospital to the network, which is ACMH Hospital in Kittanning, Pennsylvania. Together with Punxsutawney Area Hospital in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, we are now part of a one-board three-hospital group named Pennsylvania Mountains Care Network. 

How has the new behavioral health facility impacted patient care in Indiana County?

IRMC Mountains Behavioral Health, a state-of-the-art 44-bed inpatient facility, was opened the day after Memorial Day, and we are seeing a good census. We have always had a geriatric behavioral health unit, but not for adults and adolescents. It was the No. 1 transfer out of the community. Now we have added those and relocated the geriatric unit into the new building. This project was made possible by $24 million raised through a combination of reinvestment funds, grants, and fundraising efforts. We are proud to offer this service to the local community and the surrounding region. 

How does behavioral health expansion ease emergency department boarding?

A lot of times, patients can’t find a bed from the emergency room, and they can be stuck there for prolonged periods of time, which certainly isn’t helpful for moving patients ahead. With the open beds, patients could be placed quickly, and it would be a dramatically different experience than before. The facility is up and running, and I believe, making a difference in the lives of the patients we have treated.

How has the comprehensive cancer center transformed oncology access for residents in both Indiana County and the greater Pittsburgh area?

We’re able to provide a brand new linear accelerator for radiation oncology, and expand the hematology oncology, including on the chemotherapy side. That was approximately a $12 million project, wrapped up a couple years ago, allowing us to see more patients. Punxsutawney Area Hospital, in collaboration with Indiana Regional Medical Center and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, has established a hematology oncology center, which has been growing very well. Cancer is a devastating diagnosis, and usually, becomes a long journey of treatments. At the end of the day, as much care as you can get locally is good for the patient and the family. We’re really proud to be partnering with UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, and having access to their clinical trial protocols here. 

How has the expansion into robotic-assisted surgery impacted patients’ outcomes?

As a community hospital, we have to stay cutting edge with technology. We now have two da Vinci Xi robots, and a Mako robot, which is orthopedic in nature. The robotic systems continue to grow, and the precision makes a dramatic impact on length of stay. More precise incisions speed up the healing process. Almost two years ago, we broke over 2,000 cases with da Vinci, and it has been several hundred cases with Mako, which continues to assist with positive patient outcomes. 

How have you solved recent challenges in the healthcare landscape?

Coming out of the pandemic, all hospitals had struggled with financial viability. It took a while for volume to get back to historic levels. With the great retirement, there were a lot of shortages. We had to hire agency staff, which can be pretty expensive. It’s been a challenge for everybody trying to work through that. With the three hospitals, we’ve had increased opportunities to find synergies, and reduce expenses. There have also been a lot of growth opportunities in the market. That said, the two strategies having the most impact on helping us financially would be having shared specialists between hospitals and expanding geographic locations for practices. 

How does IRMC strengthen workforce development in the region?

We have started a family medicine residency program. Essentially, 50% of residents training in a rural area will stay in the area, so our program is locally based workforce development. It is very difficult to recruit for family practice and internal medicine, so to be able to have people train here, and potentially stay here, has been a big effort. 

Another challenging area is medical laboratory scientistsWe started a one-year program in collaboration with Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The students have to attend the three-year program at the university, before attending the one-year clinical program at our hospital. Prior to starting this program, the students had to travel a great distance for their clinical year. Now, we have graduated four technicians, and they have all joined our hospitals. The nurse residency program is also an important initiative. Typically, we have 15 registered nurses in a rotation, and those who join the residency program are in the direct pipeline to hiring. High school students can come to the hospital and follow a doctor a day, for a two-week program where they will be exposed to around 10 different specialties. College students can participate in an eight-week summer program, spending one week with each specialist. These programs serve as opportunities for students to find their passion and determine which pathway in the healthcare field is right for them.

What are the key priorities for the medical center in the next few years?

Ensuring access to high-quality, local care while maintaining our independence remains at the heart of our mission. Our vision is to become a $1 billion community health system, so we continue to grow and evolve, from our academic programs to our medical center. This vision started with the family medicine residency, then the medical laboratory science program and the nurse residency program. We are also looking at establishing some other residency programs in the future, and we have filed for an HRSA grant to potentially start a psychiatry residency program. With workforce shortage in behavioral health, we are hoping to have some residents come through psychiatry, and hopefully we would be able to retain some of those residents.