Akron General CEO says Cleveland Clinic merger saved hospital

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Akron (Ohio) General CEO Tim Stover, MD, said the cash infusion the health system received from its merger with Cleveland Clinic saved it from going under, according to a WKSU report.

However, the decision to come together was about more than just financial support, Dr. Stover and Delos "Toby" Cosgrove, MD, president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic, told an audience Tuesday at the Akron Press Club.

"We had to find a partner, but in my mind, the partner was always about the clinical lift, it was not about the financial lift," Dr. Strover said, according to the report.

Cleveland Clinic purchased a minority share of Akron General in 2014 for $100 million and completed a full acquisition of the health system Nov. 2.

As a newly merged system, Cleveland Clinic took care of about $150 million of Akron General's debt, is supporting a $43 million expansion project and will provide a new EHR system, according to the report. In exchange, Cleveland Clinic has gained greater entry into the Akron market. Dr. Cosgrove assured audience members that Cleveland Clinic had no intention of diverting Akron General's patients to the Cleveland Clinic, but instead wants to expand the clinic's base and improve healthcare services in Summit County, according to an Ohio.com report.

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