Highmark Wholecare opens new Connection Center at AHN Suburban

Bellevue, Pa. (June 27, 2025) — Highmark Wholecare announced today the opening of its new Pittsburgh-area Connection Center, a centralized hub that brings together care services, member support, and organized access to social resources for Medicaid and certain Medicare beneficiaries. The new Highmark Wholecare Connection Center is on the first floor of AHN Suburban, a former acute-care hospital in Bellevue, Pa., that now serves as a community innovation center. 

Highmark Wholecare, part of Highmark Health, offers Medicaid plans and dual-eligible special needs Medicare plans to more than 330,000 beneficiaries across Pennsylvania.

“This Connection Center is a place where Highmark Wholecare members and others can come for support with everything from health screenings and Diabetic Retinal eye exams to job readiness and Medicaid renewal,” said Michael Callaghan, Connection Center Supervisor, Highmark Wholecare. “We’re here to connect people not just to care, but to opportunity, stability and community, offering whole-person health and wellness support for our members as well as their families.”

Designed as Highmark Wholecare’s first Connection Center with a large public event space, the 3,000-square-foot location will have a substantial community presence, hosting year-round community programming, including:

• Farm-to-family free produce markets
• Nutrition education
• Resume-building and workforce events
• Clothing drives
• Virtual care management and navigation
• Space for aligned nonprofits to serve residents directly

"We've created this space with a clear purpose: to extend our support beyond our membership and products, and to be a valuable asset to the entire community," Callaghan added. "We are proud to be a resource for our Highmark Wholecare members and anyone else who can benefit from our services."

The Connection Center complements other Highmark-supported initiatives at AHN Suburban, including the Inglis Innovation Center Pittsburgh. Developed in partnership with Philadelphia-based Inglis, a leader in disability services, and funded through a $614,000 grant from Highmark Wholecare, the center houses assistive tech programs, a 3D printing research and development lab, and a social impact accelerator — all dedicated to expanding opportunities for people with disabilities.

Beyond the Connection Center and Inglis, AHN Suburban’s growing campus also hosts the AlphaLab Health business accelerator and a variety of Northgate School District educational programs, as well as several health-tech tenants. This week, AHN Suburban officials dedicated the new Edward D. Virbitsky Environmental Services Training and Innovation Center for AHN’s EVS employees.

AHN Suburban, formerly Suburban General Hospital, served as an acute-care hospital from 1904 through 2010. Thanks to collaborative investments from Allegheny Health Network and Highmark Health, the 230,000-square-foot AHN Suburban campus has been repurposed over the past five years, growing into a vital community health resource — blending clinical services, education and innovation in one transformative space for Bellevue and the surrounding region.

“Bellevue and its surrounding neighborhoods are very important to our organization,” said Matt Bauer, director of operations at AHN Suburban. “The opportunity to serve as an innovation center for medicine and community health is one that we are proud to embrace, and we are thrilled to welcome Highmark Wholecare and its members to our campus.”