Nello Musumeci meets Leslie Davis CEO of UPMC

The President of the Region of Sicily, Nello Musumeci, meets Leslie Davis, President and CEO of UPMC, renewing the partnership started over 20 years ago.

This morning in Palazzo Orleans, the President of the Region of Sicily, Nello Musumeci, met Leslie Davis, new President and CEO of UPMC, the U.S. healthcare group with which Sicily has an important ongoing and long-lasting partnership.

The meeting was also attended by the Regional Health Care Councilor Ruggero Razza and by the management of UPMC International and UPMC in Italy and was an opportunity to review the ongoing common projects: ISMETT 2, the new 250-bed hospital, and the futuristic Biomedical Research and Biotechnology Center (BRBC) of the Ri.MED Foundation. Both facilities will be built on the same site in Carini, near Palermo, forming the first biomedical campus in Southern Italy combining research and immediate application in clinical practice.

“UPMC's international adventure began 24 years ago, right here in Palermo, with an innovative public-private partnership with the Region of Sicily," explained Leslie Davis, who has a thirty-year experience in U.S. healthcare. “That first agreement led to the establishment of ISMETT, an example of a successful public-private partnership that transformed healthcare. ISMETT has always been a source of pride for UPMC, and with the new hospital we want to raise the bar creating a new modern and efficient model of hospital design supported by top-level technology and by UPMC's international network of know-how. In this project the support of the Region of Sicily has been and will continue to be fundamental."

“With ISMETT, we have won the challenge of providing Sicily with a world-class transplant center, adding to other excellent healthcare facilities. Today," said the President of the Sicilian Region, Nello Musumeci, “we are continuing on the path of the partnership with UPMC, which has proved to be more than fruitful, and has led us to a new and ambitious upcoming goal: ISMETT2, the new hospital – the design of which was entrusted to architect Renzo Piano – that will respond to the needs of several regions in Southern Italy and beyond, to those of North Africa."

“We are convinced that the future of Sicily – added Musumeci – lies in its being in the center of the Mediterranean region, not only geographically, but also economically and culturally. We are aiming for a competitive healthcare system that meets the needs of millions of citizens who today turn to cities in the north to have their needs met".

“ISMETT2 will boast a record not only of medical innovation – said Regional Health Councillor, Ruggero Razza – but also for the timing of implementation: twelve months, from the design idea to the executive design. We expect to start the building works as early as the beginning of next year".

“Together with the Region, we are redesigning the future of research and healthcare: the biomedical hub we are creating in Carini will contribute to developing tomorrow's health systems right here in Sicily, making the Region a leading player in health care and attracting international collaborations and partnerships," commented Leslie Davis.