One day after internal medicine specialists at Health Center Associates notified West Penn Allegheny they were leaving the hospital system to join the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on Dec. 1, two West Penn administrators walked into the group's Bloomfield offices and ordered the doctors to leave the premises that day.

One of the physicians, Alan Steckel, said "there were about a dozen patients in the office" at the time, with another 15 due later that day, Wednesday.

All the patients were seen, "but it was not the kind of care I like to provide or usually provide for my patients," he said.

"The patients obviously felt deserted. In terms of planning this out, it was not done with patients in mind. We had patients crying in the office, staff crying in the office," Dr. Steckel said.

He said the group's contract with West Penn was due to expire Nov. 30, but that they planned to see patients until the day before to ensure an orderly transition. Now, "unfortunately, for three weeks we can't see our patients."

The new offices for Drs. Steckel, Ellen Berne, Thomas Wein and Michelle Organist will be in Harmarville, Monroeville and Green Tree. Patients can get more information by calling toll-free 1-866-463-1656.

West Penn Allegheny Health Systems spokesman Tom Chakurda declined to comment on the matter, but Dr. Steckel said a new group of West Penn physicians moved into the offices at 5140 Liberty Ave. the next day, Thursday.

"I'm a geriatrician. I have a lot of elderly patients," Dr. Steckel said. "These people feel abandoned, and in some ways they have been."

The incident this week underscores the ongoing intense competition between the region's two largest health systems.

Earlier this year, a group of six obstetrics/gynecology physicians at UPMC Mercy were locked out of their offices one month after giving notice that they were moving to West Penn Hospital.