ROME — How can St. Joseph’s Health help Rome Memorial Hospital (RMH) in providing medical services in the Mohawk Valley? Officials from both organizations will work on those details after their March 22 announcement of an affiliation agreement that RMH hopes will “expand access to care.” The organizations are calling it “a collaborative relationship in […]
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ROME — How can St. Joseph’s Health help Rome Memorial Hospital (RMH) in providing medical services in the Mohawk Valley?
Officials from both organizations will work on those details after their March 22 announcement of an affiliation agreement that RMH hopes will “expand access to care.”
The organizations are calling it “a collaborative relationship in pursuit of mutual goals to expand patient access to needed services and technology in the community,” according to a joint news release issued the same day.
RMH and St. Joseph’s over the next several months will also work to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals involved with their agreement.
The Rome facility will continue to operate as an “independent, separately licensed” hospital with community representatives providing “strong local governance,” according to the release.
About the agreement
The affiliation agreement doesn’t involve a financial transaction, according to David Lundquist, CEO of Rome Memorial Hospital
“It’s not a merger or an acquisition,” says Lundquist, who spoke with CNYBJ on March 22.
The agreement involves two steps. The first is called the transition service agreement (TSA), which is a “written commitment by both parties to spend some quality time together … in defining what the affiliation will actually look like and operate like,” he added.
The timeline on defining how the affiliation will benefit both hospitals “has yet to be determined,” he notes.
RMH has had discussions with potential affiliation partners for about five years, including its discussion with Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown. RMH suspended its discussions with Bassett in October 2014.
St. Joseph’s Health will provide additional resources, including medical-staff residencies.
It has a nursing program, which could benefit RMH so it could “recruit and retain” nurses and physicians and provide education and training for the RMH staff, says Lundquist.
The Rome facility could also benefit from purchasing contracts in an affiliation with St. Joseph’s, he noted.
RMH could work with St. Joseph’s to establish a system of pre-care and post-care for patients needing open-heart surgery, according to Lundquist.
“So, I think it’s a good match,” he adds.
Lundquist began his duties as RMH CEO on March 1, following Darlene Burns, who had been serving as interim president and CEO following the resignation of Basil Ariglio last August.
“Following a comprehensive evaluation, the board has selected St. Joseph’s Health, a health-care system that shares our commitment to providing patients with high-quality, coordinated care that is easily accessible,” Dr. Chester Patrick, chairman of the RMH board of trustees, said in the March 22 release. “The signing of the transition service agreement provides the framework for RMH to become affiliated with St. Joseph’s Health as we work together to deliver the highest level of quality healthcare services to meet the needs of our patients.”
St. Joseph’s role
The affiliation agreement between St. Joseph’s Health and RMH “is really a collaboration,” says Kathryn Ruscitto, president and CEO of St. Joseph’s Health.
“We’re building a regional network of partners who will really begin to look at how to improve health and home communities,” she added in a phone interview with CNYBJ on March 22.
Ruscitto says St. Joseph’s Health has been working to expand primary-care access throughout Central New York. The organization is also working with regional partners, such as RMH, “to determine what they need in their communities.”
It’s not the first time St. Joseph’s has reached an affiliation agreement with a smaller, regional hospital. Lewis County General Hospital (LCGH) in Lowville in March 2014 announced plans to affiliate with St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center.
St. Joseph’s Health is taking its “expertise” and helping another institution work on “what’s important for its community,” says Ruscitto.
For example, St. Joseph’s has helped LCGH work on telepsychiatry and is also discussing patient access to primary care in the region. St. Joseph’s can also offer its College of Nursing for educating students in rural areas to help provide services in those areas, she notes.
“Now we have to sit down with Rome [Memorial Hospital]… and begin the work of figuring out what we can do best support them,” says Ruscitto.
The two organizations could have an update on their relationship “sometime later this year,” she adds.