Care
New England and Southcoast Health consider alliance
By Tracey C O’Connell
PROVIDENCE, RI – Providence based Care New England Health System announced on Monday the signing of a letter of intent to team up with Southcoast Health System, Inc.as a potential strategic partner.
In
a press release, the Rhode Island healthcare organization said the two
organizations are working toward a goal of forming a new not-for-profit parent
organization to oversee operations of Care New England (CNE) and the
Massachusetts-based Southcoast Health System (SCH).
“In
most every respect, Southcoast represents the best possible choice in enabling
us to move forward strengthening quality, transitioning to population health,
improving the value proposition, finding the right structural and cultural fit
for both organizations, and maintaining our valued relationships with key
academic, provider and organizational partners, said George W. Shuster, CNE
Board Chair. “We believe this partnership will truly be a win for our
community.”
The potential partnership if forged would create one of New England’s largest not-for-profit health care systems, including eight hospitals, ambulatory sites, Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) and more than 1,700 physicians and providers.
A
host of combined charitable assets and academic relationships, including the
organizations’ affiliation with Brown University’s Warren
Alpert Medical Schoolaccompany the comprehensive healthcare
alignment.
Signing
of the letter of intent with SCH came after an arduous search process, paving
the way for what is hoped to be a successful partnership agreement and ensuing
regulatory approval processes.
“We
believe the complementary services of Southcoast and the geographic span of
their service area will enable us to advance the high quality, high value
continuum of care we have been building,” said Dennis Keefe, President and CEO
of Care New England.
“We already see the common ties to community and an
unwavering commitment to mission and values both our organizations share, and
we look forward to further study of the partnership potentials that could come
to fruition in a new vision for health care delivery for our region.”
Care
New England operates Women and Infant’s, Kent, Memorial and Butler hospitals in
Rhode Island, with Southcoast Health operating Charlton Memorial, St. Luke’s
and Tobey hospitals in the Commonwealth.
The
two also bring a host of community-based healthcare services to the bargaining
table that includes VNA, The Providence Center and Southcoast Behavioral
Health.
“Southcoast
has long been focused on providing the very best care within our region of
Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, finding ways to remain highly
competitive, cost effective, and at the forefront of technological and
strategic change,” said SCH President and CEO Keith A. Hovan.
“We believe that
Southcoast can be a strong and complementary partner for Care New England, and
that together our respective organizations could form the foundation of a
highly competitive, community-based and value-driven integrated health care
system throughout southern New England.”
The
letter of intent also marks the end of negotiations between Care New England
and Rhode Island’s lead healthcare provider, Lifespan. The two Rhode
Island healthcare providers were reported to be in merger discussions in
October according to information released by Lifespan CEO, Timothy Babineau to RINPR.