The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center will expand its primary and urgent care offerings to Braddock residents for at least three years under an agreement that settles a federal civil rights complaint brought by the Braddock Borough Council President Jesse Brown.

Mr. Brown filed the complaint Dec. 15 with the U.S. Justice Department, claiming the medical giant's move to shutter UPMC Braddock violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because the closure would affect health care access for those in poor and predominantly black communities. The case was taken up by the Office of Civil Rights within the Department of Health and Human Services.

Mr. Brown had hoped the Justice Department would intervene to stop UPMC from shuttering the hospital, but it closed Jan. 31. Still, he said through his attorney that he was satisfied with the agreement, which was released to the public Thursday.

"I, Mr. Brown and Braddock Borough Council are extremely pleased with the terms of this settlement," his attorney M. Lawrence Shields III wrote in a letter to reporters.

According to HHS, the agreement requires UPMC to provide door-to-door transportation services to its outpatient facilities in Forest Hills and to UPMC McKeesport for Braddock area residents. It also outlines what services UPMC must supply to Braddock-area residents.

UPMC will offer up to six health screenings each year, support wellness programs through its "Steps to a Healthy Community" program and assist health ministries based in local churches. UPMC also will have a patient ombudsman to help Braddock-area residents who are having trouble accessing health care.

The agreement further requires UPMC to submit quarterly reports to the Office for Civil Rights regarding compliance.

"We recognize that health care institutions are confronted with difficult economic decisions," said Office for Civil Rights Director Georgina Verdugo. "However, those decisions must consider the impact on communities and steps must be taken consistent with their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to ameliorate the impact."

UPMC spokesman Paul Wood said the agreement codifies "everything UPMC indicated it would do before complaints were received by the OCR or before discussions between the OCR and UPMC were initiated."

He added: "We are pleased that UPMC's $11 million commitment to expand access to primary care and enhance key community-based services in Braddock, which we announced Feb. 1, will have a far greater impact."

But Braddock officials countered that UPMC was pressed into providing services and that they might have "walked away" if Mr. Brown hadn't filed the complaint.

"UPMC was poised to walk away from the Braddock community without even putting into place transportation services or anything else," said council member Tina Doose, who participated with Mr. Brown in discussions with officials from UPMC and HHS.

She said, for example, that UPMC was planning on ending its door-to-door transportation service within a matter of months.

Mr. Shields reiterated this point in his letter.

"If Mr. Brown had not filed this complaint, most of these benefits would never have been obtained to the benefit of the Braddock community."

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