Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh will be transformed with an approximately $1 billion investment, which includes the addition of a new cardiovascular tower and emergency department, Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network announced Thursday. Submitted Photo

Approximately $1 billion will be invested in the Allegheny General Hospital campus in Pittsburgh as part of 10-year transformation plan, which includes the addition of a new cardiovascular tower and emergency department, Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network announced Thursday, April 4.

The centerpiece of the AGH campus transformation is construction of a new patient tower which will house the services of the AHN Cardiovascular Institute and will be built at the corner of Sandusky Street and East North Avenue, adjacent to the AGH Academic Cancer Center.

“Creating high-quality patient experiences and outcomes, and equitable access, through personalized care models designed to promote wellness and address health needs, is our goal at AHN,” said Jim Benedict, AHN president.

He said the announcement reinforced a commitment to AHN’s Living Health model and the development plan for the hospital is expected to create hundreds of construction jobs.

“Our system, and its facilities and programs, are the essence of Living Health and the commitment we have made to improving health care quality and affordability in the communities we serve,” he said. “Today’s exciting announcement about the future of AGH is another partnering step in that journey with Highmark Health, and in the continuing evolution and growth of our network as an unsurpassed source of comfort, healing and wellness.”

Construction of the new Cardiovascular Institute tower is expected to begin in early 2025 pending all necessary municipal and regulatory approvals, and it will open in 2030. The facility is expected to have more than 100 private inpatient beds, in addition to state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology, cardiac surgery, stress echocardiography, wound care, nuclear medicine and other procedural spaces.

The ground floor of the tower also will accommodate the newly expanded and upgraded emergency department.

“This beautiful new facility will surround patients and their families with every resource in one central location on our campus, including highly specialized outpatient clinics and state-of-the art inpatient and procedural suites equipped with the most advanced diagnostic and therapeutic technologies available,” said Stephen Bailey, MD, chairman of the AHN Cardiovascular Institute. “It will be a magnificent structure that complements the world-class team working within its walls, and one that will attract patients and leading clinicians from around the world.”