UTICA — St. Elizabeth Medical Center (SEMC) and Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare (FSLH) have signed a memorandum of understanding for a potential affiliation that will more closely link the two hospitals and their operations.
The two organizations began discussions in December 2011 on the feasibility of such an agreement.
“This is an important first step for our organizations and for the community,” Norman Siegel, chairman of the SEMC board, said in a release. “Our respective boards have worked diligently during the past 12 months to determine an appropriate model of care for the hospitals.
“The model we are pursuing maintains the Catholicity of SEMC, allows for more linkages between the two organizations, and provides opportunities to use our limited resources to serve the greater good of our patients and residents.”
The recommended model allows for a “parent” organization which will oversee both hospitals and be governed by a single board of directors.
“The new board will be comprised of equal members from the FSLH board and the SEMC board,” Richard Tantillo, chairman of FSLH’s board of directors, said in the release. “One CEO will oversee the management team for both organizations. Additionally, each hospital will maintain a separate board, which will have significant overlap of members with the parent board.”
Hospital officials expect the legal and financial due diligence on the affiliation to take several months. If that review is successful, the organizations will file for a certificate of need (CON) application with the state Health Department as well as seek approvals from other third parties.
“We are working toward a final approval process by the end of 2013,” Scott Perra, president and CEO of FSLH said. “There are a number of pieces to the puzzle, and they all need to fit before we can proceed with a true affiliation.”
FSLH is already a successful model of affiliation after Faxton Hospital and St. Luke’s Memorial Hospital consolidated their services in 2000. Both SEMC and FSLH jointly sponsor the Mohawk Valley Heart Institute and have a collaborative agreement for the Central New York Diabetes Education Program.
The two organizations employ nearly 4,500 and have combined operating budgets of more than $542 million.
Contact DeLore at tdelore@tmvbj.com