The finalization of Allegheny Health Network’s merger with Heritage Valley Health System has prompted a call for the new owners to reopen the former Heritage Valley Kennedy hospital.
A petition launched on the website Change.org garnered nearly 1,500 signatures as of Thursday evening, calling on AHN to reopen the hospital, which closed a little over one year ago.
“This facility is more than a hospital – it is a critical resource for Kennedy Township and surrounding communities,” the petition reads.
The petition also notes that with AHN now emphasizing expanded access to care and investment in local communities, “this is a key moment to ensure those commitments include Kennedy.”
“Our community depends on nearby, reliable healthcare services, including emergency care, inpatient treatment and specialized support.”
An AHN spokesperson said Thursday that no decisions have been made about the fate of the former Ohio Valley Hospital campus.
“We’re still evaluating the potential future use of that campus and those facilities to determine how to best utilize them going forward,” said Bill Toland.
Toland said AHN has not made any changes to the existing services that Heritage Valley was offering at the Kennedy campus.
Toland said the Kennedy location will continue to offer services at its ConvenientCare walk-in clinic as well as lab draw, primary care, ophthalmology and dialysis services.
“But in terms of what happens in the future, we haven’t made any decisions,” Toland said.
Norm Mitry, Heritage Valley’s president and CEO, said in a news release posted Wednesday that when Heritage Valley announced its intention in October to become part of AHN and Highmark Health, “the excitement among our leadership, our caregivers and across the broader community was palpable.”
“That enthusiasm has only grown stronger in the ensuing days, and we could not be happier with the news today that we are now formally part of this great organization,” Mitry added.
Mitry said the affiliation with AHN secures the future of Heritage Valley “by not only preserving but significantly strengthening the tradition of caring and clinical excellence that has defined our health system, and its people, for more than a century.”
The merger, which was officially announced Wednesday, will result in the rebranding of Heritage Valley Beaver and Heritage Valley Sewickley as AHN Beaver Hospital – Heritage Valley and AHN Sewickley Hospital – Heritage Valley, respectively.
Toland said it’s not known if the Kennedy properties will be rebranded in a similar manner but he noted that new signage will eventually cometo all the campuses and Heritage Valley Health System properties and clinics.
The news release posted Wednesday states that Heritage Valley, AHN and Highmark Health have committed roughly $285 million over the next 10 years to bolster Heritage Valley’s clinical services and invest in facility and IT infrastructure improvements, the first of which will be to install the Epic electronic health record system across all Heritage Valley inpatient and outpatient sites.
The news release did not specifically mention any improvements for the Kennedy Township campus.
According to the Heritage Valley website, which now features a large AHN logo at the top and a message that reads “Heritage Valley Health System is now Allegheny Health Network,” Heritage Valley Kennedy Township “allows community members the opportunity to address their healthcare needs in one convenient location. As part of Heritage Valley’s integrated delivery network of healthcare, patients can be assured that the high-quality services available to them will all be connected through Heritage Valley’s electronic health record system.”
The site states that ConvenientCare Walk-In Clinics “can accommodate the healthcare needs of today’s busy families in a cost-effective manner,” noting that it’s designed to address less urgent healthcare needs at the convenience of patients 18 months of age and older.
“While minor illnesses and injuries are typically the most common reasons for patients to seek care at our ConvenientCare Clinics,” the website states, “we also provide certain vaccines, physicals and diagnostic testing.”
The change.org petition states that with the Kennedy hospital remaining closed, residents face longer travel times for care, placing “unnecessary strain on patients, families and already burdened hospitals in the region.”
“Timely access to healthcare is essential – especially for seniors, individuals with chronic conditions and those without reliable transportation.”
AHN’s Allegheny General Hospital, on Pittsburgh’s North Side, is about eight miles from the former Ohio Valley Hospital.
Heritage Valley announced the closure of the Kennedy hospital in April 2025. Officials at that time cited a decline in patient activity and a reduction in provider reimbursements as the reason for the move.
After that initial announcement was made, several types of hospital services were phased out over time. Specifically, the hospital’s inpatient behavioral health services, outpatient surgical services and emergency room all closed during the month of June in 2025.
Outpatient surgery services relocated to Heritage Valley Sewickley and the Heritage Valley Ambulatory Surgery Center in Monaca the following month.
The facility formerly known as Ohio Valley Hospital officially was renamed Heritage Valley Kennedy in October 2019, about 10 months after it became a subsidiary of Heritage Valley Health System. At the time, it became the third hospital under the Heritage Valley umbrella.
According to a paid advertisement that appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in November 2017, Ohio Valley Hospital was known as McKees Rocks Hospital when it was established in the 1890s to treat railroad workers. Later the name was changed to Ohio Valley General Hospital and then in 2014 to Ohio Valley Hospital.
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