Pittsburgh-based UPMC and Highmark Health, also in Pittsburgh, are ending their joint venture to operate Erie, Pa.-based The Regional Cancer Center, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Here are five things to know about the deal's dissolution.
1. Highmark Health owns Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network, the parent organization of Erie-based St. Vincent Hospital. UPMC owns UPMC Hamot, also in Erie.
2. Prior to the respective acquisitions of both hospitals by UPMC and Highmark, St. Vincent Hospital and UPMC Hamot jointly owned and operated The Regional Cancer Center.
3. UPMC Hamot President David Gibbons, RN, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Each hospital will move forward independently to form their own cancer centers."
4. The breakup of the cancer center began roughly two years ago, when St. Vincent Hospital and UPMC Hamot began transitioning chemotherapy care to their respective facilities.
5. Officials expect to complete St. Vincent Hospital's withdrawal from the joint venture operation by the end of 2019. UPMC officials are reportedly considering acquiring the building housing The Regional Cancer Center, according to the report.