UPMC to close Somerset hospice facility; care shifting to homes, hospital

SOMERSET — Hospice care inside Somerset’s In Touch Hospice House will end this summer, driven by changing industry trends, UPMC officials said.

With more patients able to receive end-of-life care at home, demand for the North Center Avenue location’s 10-bed unit has decreased in recent years, a UPMC spokesperson said in a statement Friday.

“With many more patients receiving care in their homes, we will continue to enhance our services to meet this need,” officials with the Pittsburgh-based health care provider wrote.

That doesn’t mean the hospital will no longer be providing hospice care.

“Hospice services will continue in the home and inpatient care will be in the hospital,” UPMC spokeswoman Sarah Deist said in the statement.

The building itself will remain in operation — although plans for the 10-unit hospice wing remain undecided, she said.

“The In Touch Hospice House building will be used for administrative offices for hospice and home health. Hospice services will continue in the home and inpatient care will be in the hospital. We are looking at other opportunities to utilize space in the building for services that will continue to benefit the community,” the statement read.

In Touch Hospice House debuted in 2009 through a donation by the Wheeler family after its patriarch, Harold W. Wheeler, died following a four-year battle with cancer.

The location was designed as a home away from home for people with acute needs — many of whom were in end-of-life scenarios, allowing their families to spend time with them in a setting that includes a kitchen, living room and a sun porch.

UPMC acquired Somerset Hospital in 2019 — and part of the agreement included eventually consolidating the home health and hospice agencies into their network, officials said.

Deist said the 10-bed section of the building is expected to be closed by Aug. 1.

UPMC is working with employees during this transition “to make sure they are put in the best new positions to succeed,” the statement added.