UPMC to expand healthcare access to address civil rights complaint

To settle a civil rights complaint, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center will pay for extended hours at a clinic and give door-to-door rides for non-emergency care per a voluntary agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights.

The agreement was a response to a federal complaint filed by borough council President Jesse Brown, who alleged UPMC harmed poor, black residents who rely on public transit when it closed its Braddock hospital, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. According to the census bureau, Braddock Borough is 66 percent black and per capita income runs about $13,100, far lower than the U.S. per capita income of $22,000.

When UPMC Braddock closed, residents faced long, multi-leg bus trips to get to neighboring hospitals.

"We recognize that healthcare institutions are confronted with difficult economic decision," OCR Director Georgina Verdugo, said in a statement. "However, those decisions must consider the impact on communities and steps must be taken consistent with their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to ameliorate that impact."

The settlement offers more healthcare options in Braddock than UPMC had willingly offered, according to the lawyer who represented Brown. UPMC must provide door-to-door transportation to its outpatient facilities in Forest Hills and to UPMC McKeesport for Braddock residents, the Post-Gazette reports. It will also offer up to six health screenings a year and assist health ministries based in local churches. A patient ombudsman will help Braddock-area residents who have trouble accessing healthcare. UPMC will also have to submit quarterly reports to the Office for Civil Rights on compliance.

To learn more:
- see the resolution agreement between the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
- here's the press release
- read the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story
- here's the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article

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