Valley Ambulance Authority working with AHN physicians while on calls after dropping Heritage Valley

After more than 50 years with Heritage Valley Sewickley, the Valley Ambulance Authority is instead relying on physicians from Allegheny Health Network’s hospital in Wexford for authorization to treat patients in the field.

The switch happened March 1, but wasn’t officially announced until April 16.

“We saw that Allegheny Health Network was becoming the forefront of pre-hospital emergency medical services,” said Brian Herskovitz, the authority’s chief. “Heritage Valley Health System was a longstanding partner, however, we needed to continue to progress.”

For example, Allegheny Health Network Wexford has a physician response vehicle that can bring blood for on-scene transfusions.

Heritage Valley President and CEO Norm Mitry declined to comment.

Allegheny Health Network did not immediately return a request for comment.

EMTs and paramedics need permission from a doctor to administer some medications or perform certain procedures. Paramedics have more training than EMTs, giving them greater leeway in treating patients.

Herskovitz said the change in medical command services has no impact on where patients will be taken, adding, “the authority will continue to transport the patients to the most appropriate facility based on presentation.”

The authority’s relationship with Heritage Valley became less productive once the network bought NorthWest EMS several years back, according to Herskovitz. Non-emergency transports to the Sewickley hospital, once a reliable revenue generator for the authority, plummeted from about 1,500 a year to only a few.

The Valley Ambulance Authority serves Coraopolis, Crescent, Moon, Neville Island and certain parts of the Pittsburgh International Airport. Its sister organization, the Quaker Valley Ambulance Authority, covers Aleppo, Bell Acres, Edgeworth, Glenfield, Glen Osborne, Haysville, Leet, Leetsdale, Sewickley, Sewickley Heights and Sewickley Hills.

Though Quaker Valley is a separate organization, it’s staffed by Valley personnel. The switch to the Wexford hospital applies to both.

Heritage Valley is amid a transition of its own. At the end of June, it will close its Kennedy hospital due to declining patient activity and insufficient insurance reimbursements. Mitry told TribLive earlier this month the Sewickley hospital is here to stay and could, in fact, see higher usage going forward.