Pittsburgh, PA  (April 2, 2020) –  Allegheny Health Network (AHN)  will take an important new step today in the system’s efforts to prepare for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic surge that is expected to hit the western Pennsylvania region in the coming weeks.  AHN will transform the Highmark Health Penn Avenue Place auditorium into a COVID-19 test kit production center with a goal of creating 6,000 new kits by the end of this week, and thousands more in the weeks ahead.  The effort is another example of AHN thinking out-of-the box in its pandemic response strategy to meet the community’s health needs at this challenging time, including the increasing demand for more COVID-19 test kits on the front lines.