Effective Monday, the agreement establishes a partnership between 135-bed Richland Memorial and the Carle system, which includes a 393-bed hospital and a 400-physician practice, to collaborate on clinical care. It is the first partnership in Carle’s new Rural Alliance program, in which the health system plans to collaborate with hospitals to provide high-quality clinical care in rural areas, according to the report.
Executives from both organizations said the affiliation is not intended to be a merger — they will remain independent and plan to meet early next year to discuss their collaboration strategy.
The two organizations plan to discuss sharing EMRs and specialty services, telemedicine, physician recruitment and purchasing, as well as sharing protocols for treatments of high-risk conditions, according to the report.
Richland CEO David Allen, CPA, said the hospital is in good financial standing and the partnership is an opportunity to advance and expand its current services, according to the report.
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