UPMC to Open Global Operations Center in Ireland

Chalk up another major connection between Western Pennsylvania and Ireland.

Pittsburgh-based UPMC, the state’s largest health care provider, announced Thursday that it plans to establish a Global Technology Operations Center in Kilkenny, Ireland to support the health system’s continuing international expansion.

UPMC already has a robust presence in the Emerald Isle, including health care facilities in Waterford, Cork, Carlow and Kildare. The new center is expected to employ more than 60 skilled technology workers and other support staff, adding to the nearly 500 UPMC staff already there.

UPMC International Senior Vice President David Beirne, who also is managing director of UPMC in Ireland, said that support from IDA Ireland, which encourages foreign investment and job creation, was one of many advantages UPMC weighed.

“This new center will give us the unique ability to accommodate regulatory, cultural and language requirements across our international sites, including in Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan and China.”

IDA Ireland is the Irish government’s foreign direct investment agency, responsible for the attraction an