UPMC Hamot president promoted, will oversee hospitals from Erie to Harrisburg
Shortly after David Gibbons was promoted to UPMC Hamot president, he told the Erie Times-News that "not a whole lot was going to change. It's business as usual."
Gibbons, 59, was referring specifically to the transition from former Hamot president Jim Fiorenzo, but Gibbons smiled at the thought of everything that has happened in health care since he became the Erie hospital's leader in 2017.
It hasn't been business as usual.
Gibbons, who is leaving Hamot to become regional president for the Pittsburgh-based health system's Health Services Division, has dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Highmark-UPMC consent decree battle, a nationwide nursing shortage and the largest building project in Hamot's history.
"What I recall is that we really became better acquainted with the community," Gibbons said. "Early in the pandemic, we went door to door distributing face masks in east Erie neighborhoods with some community organizations. Getting people face masks, providing COVID vaccinations, working with the community centers, those have been highlights for me."
More: 10 years later: A look back at UPMC Hamot's affiliation with the Pittsburgh health system
Now Gibbons will help Hamot prepare for a new president as he takes on the responsibility of adding seven more UPMC hospitals to the 11 he already oversees.
Gibbons will work with hospital presidents, and other clinical and operational leaders, from Erie to Harrisburg. He will be responsible for three of UPMC's five U.S. geographical regions: northwestern Pennsylvania and New York state, north central Pennsylvania, and central Pennsylvania.
"I'm adding the central region, which is the Harrisburg area," Gibbons said. "It's a fast-growing area, a competitive market with different (health insurance) payers."
Gibbons will remain Hamot's president until a successor is found. UPMC will start a national search, which will likely take at least six months.
"Priority is finding the absolute right replacement for David, who shares UPMC's commitment to the Erie market and communities served by our hospitals in northern Pennsylvania and western New York," said Joel Yuhas, president of UPMC's Health Services Division.
Gibbons joined UPMC in 2009, arrived at Hamot in 2012
Gibbons joined UPMC in 2009 as president of UPMC Northwest in Venango County. He was named Hamot's chief operating officer in 2012.
Besides being Hamot's president, Gibbons also oversaw all UPMC hospitals in northwestern Pennsylvania, north central Pennsylvania, and UPMC Chautauqua in Jamestown, New York.
"David has led an unprecedented period of sustained excellence, growth, and expansion, especially with respect to (Hamot's) service excellence and clinical capabilities," Yuhas said in an email. "Nearly half of David's tenure included a pandemic and his accomplishments never ceased during that time."
More: UPMC's first female leader, Leslie Davis, discusses UPMC Hamot, hospital challenges
Yuhas mentioned the construction of Hamot's $111 million, seven-story patient tower, which was completed in 2020 and includes 64 intensive care unit beds.
But Gibbons pointed with pride to the creation of the Jameson School of Nursing at UPMC Hamot, and the UPMC School of Surgical Technology at the Erie County Community College. Both institutions were created in recent years to deal with staffing shortages.
"A building project is great but it's a building," Gibbons said. "The nursing school and the surgical tech school, that's building people, building the future."
More: From candy striper to CEO: Corry Memorial Hospital's Barb Nichols retires after 6 decades
The most difficult aspect of the promotion is leaving his team at Hamot, said Gibbons, who will be moving to Mechanicsburg later this year. He will return to Erie at least monthly as part of his new duties.
He credited his fellow Hamot employees not only with helping the community through the COVID-19 pandemic, but helping him deal with his elderly parents.
"The UPMC Hamot family was my family," Gibbons said. "They helped me navigate the care for my parents and they were there to support me during their final days. I will never forget that."
Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNBruce.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: UPMC Hamot President David Gibbons promoted, to leave Erie
