September 2, 2009 |
Mike Romano |
Stephen Shivinsky |
Catholic Health Initiatives and Trinity Health Sign Letter of Intent to Form Four-Hospital System
to Better Serve Eastern Oregon-Western Idaho
(September 2, 2009) Boise, Idaho – Catholic Health Initiatives and Trinity Health announced today they have signed a letter of intent to combine their four Eastern Oregon-Western Idaho hospitals into a single local system. The agreement calls for transferring the three CHI facilities to Trinity Health, thus creating a new regional healthcare system to be operated by Trinity Health.
Three of the hospitals – Mercy Medical Center, Nampa, Idaho; Holy Rosary Medical Center, Ontario, Ore.; and Saint Elizabeth Health Services, Baker City, Ore. – are part of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) of Denver, Colo. The fourth hospital is Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center (SARMC) of Boise, a part of Trinity Health of Novi, Mich.
“Combining the strengths of our three hospitals with Saint Alphonsus appears to be the best strategy for the future of our health care ministry,” said Kevin Lofton, President and Chief Executive Officer, Catholic Health Initiatives. “Beyond our common values and religious heritage, all four hospitals are dedicated to improving the health of the communities they serve.”
Commenting on the agreement, Trinity Health President and CEO, Joseph R. Swedish said, “This is a historic day for the residents in Idaho and eastern Oregon who will soon benefit from an integrated regional health system, working to improve the health and well-being of the community, and treating patients with compassion and respect. It is also an important day for Catholic health care.”
Over the past several months, board and senior leaders of Mercy Medical Center, Holy Rosary Medical Center, St. Elizabeth’s Health Services and CHI have been exploring the potential benefits of formally aligning the three hospitals with another hospital or health system.
“Saint Alphonsus and Trinity Health have expressed a commitment to create a new regional health system which will sustain our ministries in Baker City, Ontario and Nampa over the long term, valuing our dedicated staff and recruiting much-needed providers to underserved communities,” Lofton said.
The ongoing discussions have no effect on current operations. If the facilities combine, all facilities will remain open and it is expected that most employees will continue in their positions.
Following a period of time for due diligence assessment by both systems, the next step would be execution of an agreement. The creation of a new regional system made up of the four facilities, and transfer of the three CHI hospitals to Trinity Health, could occur within the next several months.
Catholic Health Initiatives is a national nonprofit health care system with headquarters in Denver. The second-largest faith-based health care system in the nation, Catholic Health Initiatives operates in 20 states and includes 78 hospitals; 40 long-term care, assisted- and residential-living facilities; and two community health-services organizations. Together, these facilities provided $536 million in charity care and community benefit in the 2008 fiscal year, including services for the poor, free clinics, education and research. Catholic Health Initiatives represents more than 65,000 employees and consolidated annual operating revenues of $8.2 billion.
Trinity Health, headquartered in Novi, Michigan, is the nation’s fourth-largest Catholic health care system with 45 acute-care hospitals, 379 outpatient facilities, 29 long-term care facilities, and numerous home health offices and hospice programs based in seven states. Trinity Health employs 45,000 full-time staff, had $7 billion in annual operating revenue and contributed nearly $400 million in community benefits in fiscal year 2009. For more information about Trinity Health, visit http://www.trinity-health.org/ and find the organization on Facebook.