Northside Leadership Conference
and Allegheny General Hospital:
12 years and counting

Over the span of the rich twelve-year history of partnership, the Northside Leadership Conference and Allegheny General Hospital have worked together to identify and achieve many goals that affect positive change for the whole area. Both Allegheny General Hospital and the Northside Leadership Conference re-sign this far-reaching agreement every two years to allow fluidity and adjustment for change as needs, situations and goals change for both partners. The range of programs this partnership affirms includes neighborhood re-investment, education initiatives, a mortgage/neighborhood marketing committee, health services, neighborhood employment, and local purchasing initiatives.

Neighborhood Re-Investment
Purchase and rehabilitation
This program uses a 1995 study completed by Perkins Eastman Architects and Eve Picker Planning-Design-Development to focus the re-investment strategies.
The study designated 21 units for potential purchase and rehabilitation and recommended that they be either for-sale by owner occupant or rental housing managed by an appropriate neighborhood group or some other Northside entity.
A Success story stemming from this program is the Sustainable Technology House located at 810 Cedar Avenue.

Allegheny General Hospital lends its support and technical assistance to neighborhood groups involved in the development of projects that address concerns affecting the physical landscapes near the Hospital proper. These initiatives include purchase and infill of vacant or blighted properties, façade and streetscape improvements, establishing greenways in difficult areas, particularly around Fountain Street and its surrounding hillsides, and assisting in the re-zoning processes enacted by the neighborhood groups.

Education Initiatives
AGH recognizes the concerns of Northside residents about a lack of opportunities for employment for which local residents are qualified. In response to these concerns, AGH continues to fund the Health Careers Program for selected Northside residents who pursue education in Allied Health Careers at CCAC, Connelly Technical Institute and Bidwell Training Center. Through this competitive program, monies are made available for students to enroll in pre-determined allied health fields that AGH perceives a labor shortage in the foreseeable future. Upon graduation and successful completion of any licenses or registry examination, AGH will make every possible effort to employ those graduates within the Allegheny system. Individuals selected to receive financial aid from AGH must sign an agreement with the hospital to accept employment at the hospital, at the salary rate then in effect for the position they are training for, and for a designated period of time. Completion of the agreed upon period will result in forgiveness of the obligation to repay assistance that individuals receive.

Mortgage and Marketing
AGH sponsors yearly neighborhood tours for hospital employees to visit cultural and neighborhood attractions on the Northside. They also promote Northside neighborhood events through the use of its newsletters, communications, and displays.

The mortgage product offered to Allegheny General Hospital employees is being revised. Updates will be posted as soon as the information is released.

Health Services
The Northside Health Improvement Partnership (NSHIP), whose members include AGH, NSLC and its member organizations, and other healthcare and social service providers, views its mission as measurably improving the overall health status and quality of life of Northside residents.

Past endeavors have included programs promoting child bicycle helmet usage and mobile mammography programs in Northside neighborhoods.

Neighborhood Employment
AGH is committed to providing residents of the Northside community priority in hiring for new positions, provided all other qualifications are equal. The goal of this prioritization is to promote the economic vitality of the Northside by increasing number of Northside residents at work in the hospital. AGH also provides job listings to the Employment Center located at the conference in order to assist them in reaching qualified applicants from the Northside area.

Local Purchasing Initiatives
A committee is being formed to focus on strengthening the economic climate of the Northside business community. Members of this committee will seek to find ways to increase hospital access to Northside businesses, enhance the ability of Northside vendors to compete effectively within the general marketplace and also for AGH's business.