UPMC Altoona
hospital in Pennsylvania, United States

UPMC Altoona, located in downtown Altoona, Pennsylvania, is a 380-bed, non-profit, private community hospital system that contains more than 20 affiliated health care companies and functions as the regional referral center and tertiary hub of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). Founded in 1883 as to serve the needs of the area and the Pennsylvania Railroad, the hospital was known for most of its history simply as Altoona Hospital (a name still used by locals in informal discussion). It became part of the Altoona Regional Health System which was created in 2004 by the merger of Altoona Hospital with Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital, previously Mercy Hospital of Altoona. As part of UPMC since 2013 and a level II trauma center until 2024, it is a level III trauma center and is served by 300 physicians and 4,000 care givers that help it to provide a variety of medical services and specialties.
UPMC Altoona is the tallest building in Altoona.
History
Prior to becoming part of the UPMC system, UPMC Altoona was known as the Altoona Regional Health System, of which Altoona Regional Hospital was the flagship facility and campus. That health system was the product of a 2004 merger between the city's two historic hospitals, Altoona Hospital and Mercy Hospital, the later of which became known as Bon Secours Holy Family Hospital in 1996.
Altoona Hospital
Altoona Hospital was founded as Altoona General Hospital in 1883 due to the needs for a medical facility for the growing population of Blair County and the Pennsylvania Rail Road (PRR), which had its primary repair shops located in the area. Altoona Hospital's earliest permanent home was a $16,645 ($596,446 in 2025 dollars) wooden, two-story, 30-bed hospital that opened on January 1, 1886. The first medical staff, led by Dr.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “UPMC Altoona” as hospital in Pennsylvania, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as hospital in Pennsylvania, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q14956829. Authority coordinates are 40.522, -78.399. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1883, 2004, 2013 and 2024.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “UPMC Altoona”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow UPMC Altoona primary sources, UPMC Altoona archive and UPMC research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “UPMC Altoona”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “UPMC Altoona” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.