Overview
- Five Pennsylvania hospitals — Butler Memorial, Clarion, Frick, Latrobe and Westmoreland — and affiliated physician groups will move under the WVU Medicine brand under a signed letter of intent.
- WVU Health System committed $800 million over five years to modernize facilities, expand clinical services and upgrade infrastructure, including Butler Memorial’s emergency department and Westmoreland Hospital’s campus.
- Leaders say the affiliation is designed to expand specialty care access and improve outcomes through shared resources and population health efforts with Peak Health.
- Independence Health System, formed in 2023 from Butler Health System and Excela Health, serves more than 750,000 residents across 10 counties with roughly 7,000 employees and over 1,000 providers.
- The move follows Independence’s financial strain this year, including workforce reductions, while WVU Medicine brings a larger regional footprint with 25 hospitals and 35,000 employees.