Gardner And Athol Hospitals To Form Alliance
Gardner's Heywood Hospital and Athol Memorial Hospital have announced plans to affiliate, in an effort to streamline administration and costs.
The two hospitals have agreed on a letter of intent and will begin to assess the feasibility of affiliating—a process expected to last through the rest of the year, according to Heywood.
Winfield S. Brown, president of the 153-bed facility, would serve as president and CEO of both hospitals under the proposal, while a single board of trustees, consisting of members drawn from the existing Heywood and Athol boards, would be established.
The move would cut costs for both hospitals, according to Jim Meehan, interim president of Athol Memorial Hospital, by allowing them to eliminate duplicate services, and streamline capital spending for new technology and equipment.
"Working together, we will be able to make investments in health care technologies, our health care staff, and new and expanded services to meet the changing health care needs of the people of North Central Massachusetts," Meehan said.
Brown said an affiliation of the two hospitals would improve the depth and breadth of health care services in the region.
"We see the agreements with Athol Memorial as forming the bases for a true health care system in North Central Massachusetts," Brown said.
Vanguard Health Systems-New England, which owns St. Vincent Hospital n Worcester, had planned to acquire the 25-bed Athol Memorial as recently as 2011, but the proposal never materialized.
Erik Wexler, president of Vanguard Health Systems-New England, congratulated Heywood and Athol on the proposed affiliation.
"While we had explored a formal affiliation with Athol, we support collaboration with Heywood Hospital as a way for this critical-access hospital to continue offering high local care," Wexler said.
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