Tuesday, September 16, 2014NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The boards of directors of Jameson Health System and UPMC today announced they have signed a nonbinding letter of intent to merge Jameson into the UPMC network. Jameson, UPMC, and UPMC Horizon will collaborate to develop a plan that will ensure continued access to quality health care for the region, the hospitals said.
“Earlier this year, we shared with our community that Jameson Health System’s board of directors has been exploring affiliation with a larger health care system,” said Steve Warner, Jameson Health System board chairman, in a prepared statement.
“Our choice to integrate with UPMC is the right one because it will preserve and enhance our ability to provide exceptional health care close to home. It’s important to our community that Jameson continues to operate as a not-for-profit system and remains a vital economic driver for our area. Ultimately, we are excited to grow and develop health care services for the people of our region.”
The affiliation will enable Jameson to benefit from UPMC’s clinical, educational, and technological resources. It will allow Jameson to "remain ahead of the curve in health care technology, information systems, and quality assurance -- important functions that Jameson would have had difficulty achieving without the resources and expertise that UPMC brings," the announcement said.
For UPMC Horizon, this development further demonstrates UPMC’s commitment to the people of Mercer and Lawrence counties. This action will protect and enhance regional health care delivery for many years to come. “Our community leaders will work together to develop the best plan for Mercer and Lawrence Counties,” said Frank Mindicino, UPMC Horizon board chairman. “There are only winners in this. Our hospitals remain viable, our services for patients grow, and our communities stay strong.”
“Both JHS and UPMC have a long history of providing high-quality, responsive, and cost-effective care to the communities they serve,” said David T. Martin, senior vice president, hospital division, UPMC. “Through this transaction, JHS and UPMC intend to integrate the governance of Jameson and UPMC Horizon with the strength of engaged community leaders. As a result, a regionally coordinated approach to delivering health care in Lawrence, Mercer, and surrounding counties can achieve synergies and efficiencies in an era of diminishing reimbursement and increasing financial challenges. Working with the outstanding medical staffs of Jameson and UPMC Horizon, choice and competition will be preserved within the market which will also help to manage health care costs,” he added.
UPMC will expand and evolve health care services in the Lawrence/Mercer region, the announcement said, and will commit to no less than 10 years of planned service improvements for the region, including physician recruitment, capital improvements, and coordination of clinical programs. UPMC said it would invest $70 million for the development of facilities and services of Jameson Health System – with at least $15 million earmarked for improvements over the next two years.
Within the next six months, a plan will be developed for both Jameson and UPMC Horizon to address the creation and expansion of facilities and equipment for clinical programs, the hospitals said. The plan will incorporate physician manpower and community health needs assessments to identify and prioritize developments. The combined strengths of the integrated Board of Directors will direct decisions for capital and program developments in the region.
Jameson Health System is a nonprofit health-care system.
Pittsburgh-based UPMC is ithe largest nongovernmental employer in Pennsylvania, integrating more than 62,000 employees, more than 20 hospitals, 400 doctors’ offices and outpatient sites, a more than 2.3-million-member health insurance division, and international and commercial operations. Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC ranks No. 12 in the U.S. News & World Report annual Honor Roll of America’s Best Hospitals — and No. 1 in Pennsylvania.
SOURCES: Jameson Health System, UPMC.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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