Don't go looking for a connection, but one week after the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center announced that it was expanding its reach overseas, the health system said it would be extending the operation here, too -- to Monroeville.

It does a Pittsburgher's heart (head, stomach, knees, hips, etc.) good.

That's because, by buying the former Palace Inn hotel for $19 million and turning it into an outpatient facility, the homegrown medical giant will be bringing medical care closer to the hometown crowd. The center, on 12 acres at the intersection of Routes 22 and 48, will have room to accommodate an ambulatory surgery unit, an urgent-care center, doctor's offices and pediatric services. Renovations should be complete by 2010.

Pittsburghers might have felt a little jealous Feb. 25 when UPMC reported a new management agreement with Beacon Hospital in south Dublin, Ireland. This will be the health network's fifth overseas operation, after the transplant center it runs in Palermo, Italy; the two Irish cancer centers it operates; and the physicians and consultation it provides to a medical system in Qatar.

The Pittsburgh institution, which controls half of the local acute-care market, has stirred controversy in recent years with its large profits ($101 million in its last six-month reporting period) and overseas expansion. At a time when U.S. health care is ever-expensive and still leaves millions of Americans uncovered, it's only natural for local patients to want to see their hospital dollars recycled at home.

While the region should be glad that others around the globe regard the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center as world-class, it's a plus when the system provides greater access to good medicine in its own community.