PLATTSBURGH NY – CVPH Medical Center and Elizabethtown Community Hospital (ECH) announced today that the New York State Department of Health has approved a corporate affiliation between the two organizations through their corporate parent, Community Providers, Inc. (CPI), and Fletcher Allen Partners (FAP), the Vermont-based corporate parent organization of Fletcher Allen Health Care and Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC). The affiliation took effect January 1, 2013, and is subject to confirmation by the New York Supreme Court, which is expected within 45 days. The affiliation was approved by the boards of the participating organizations earlier in 2012.
“Fletcher Allen Partners holds incredible potential for the patients and communities located within the boundaries of this innovative regional approach to addressing health care needs,” Stephens Mundy, President and CEO of CVPH Medical Center said. “Given our evolving health care delivery system now is the time for collaboration in order to achieve the best access to quality care, outcomes and cost effectiveness. We at CVPH could not be happier to affiliate with Fletcher Allen Health Care and Central Vermont Medical Center while continuing our relationship with our sister hospital in Elizabethtown. It will be up to all of us to deliver improved health care access to our communities.”
“The affiliation will allow for improved continuity of patient care throughout the region,” said Rod Boula, CEO at Elizabethtown Community Hospital. “Our facilities will provide seamless and coordinated care by improving access to specialists and information. Patients will ultimately benefit from the strengths of each organization, as each will be working closely with the others.”
"Like Stephens and Rod, I believe that increased collaboration among our hospitals and other providers in the region will benefit our patients," said John Brumsted, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Fletcher Allen and chief executive officer, Fletcher Allen Partners. "The affiliation also will foster the academic mission. With an integrated health care system, we have an opportunity to train the next generation of physicians, nurses and other providers in a clinical environment of the future – one that emphasizes coordination and integration – and to provide expanded opportunities for clinical research."
The affiliation was finalized following a 9-month period of state and federal regulatory reviews that began last March after the organizations gave their initial approvals to proceed.
Common Parent Organization
Fletcher Allen Partners has governing powers over all of its members including approval rights over significant matters of each organization such as budgets, strategic plans, and major financial decisions.
Fletcher Allen Partners has a 27-member board of trustees drawn from the membership of the organizations' current boards and medical staffs including 14 members from Fletcher Allen, 7 members from CPI and 6 members from CVMC.
Fletcher Allen President and CEO Dr. Brumsted is CEO of the system parent; CVMC President and CEO Judy Tartaglia is the executive vice president of the Vermont Community Hospital Division, and CVPH Medical Center President and CEO Stephens Mundy is the executive vice president for Northern New York.
System Activities
This affiliation builds on existing clinical partnerships among the institutions. For example, Fletcher Allen already provides specialized physician services for the Central Vermont community on the CVMC campus including general surgery, neurosurgery, vascular surgery, gynecologic oncology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, and family medicine services at Berlin Family Health. Fletcher Allen also provides clinical oversight of the heart surgery program at CVPH Medical Center.
Under the proposed affiliation, the four hospitals would participate with Fletcher Allen Partners in developing and implementing system-wide initiatives and programs that promote their shared objectives, including initiatives that:
- increase access and improve the quality of health care services through joint clinical initiatives,
- centralize administrative functions such as group purchasing to reduce costs and improve efficiency,
- engage in regional planning to address regional health care needs, and
- explore the development of a common electronic health record platform over the next three years.
Under the affiliation, each health care institution retains its own board, management, and medical staff.
For more information about Fletcher Allen Partners, please go to: http://www.fletcherallen.partners.org.
About CVMC
Central Vermont Medical Center consists of a not-for-profit acute care hospital offering a full spectrum of in-patient and out-patient services and 24-hour emergency care, National Life Cancer Treatment Center, Woodridge Rehabilitation and Nursing, and 17 medical group practices. Our mission is to work collaboratively to meet the needs and improve the health of the residents of central Vermont.
About CVPH Medical Center
CVPH Medical Center is a private, not-for-profit hospital established in 1967 with the merger of Champlain Valley and Physicians Hospitals. It is the largest health provider and employer in New York’s North Country. CVPH Medical Center is a partner with Adirondack Medical Center and Hudson Headwaters Health Network in the Adirondack Health Institute (AHI). AHI is involved with the Adirondack Region Medical Home, one of eight demonstration projects in the nation funded by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, and the new Medicaid Health Homes, a new approach in New York to providing enhanced care to Medicaid enrollees who have chronic conditions. CVPH Medical Center established its Champlain Valley Heart Center in 2005 and has earned national acclaim for outcomes and quality.
About ECH
Elizabethtown Community Hospital is a 25-bed critical access hospital providing healthcare to communities throughout Essex County, NY (600 sq. mi.). It offers an inpatient unit offering both acute and sub-acute care, a 24-hour emergency department, access to specialists, a complete therapy department, on-site laboratory and pharmacy, an all-digital radiology department, chemotherapy / infusion treatment, and a cardiac rehabilitation program; all supported by advanced technology throughout the facility. The hospital owns a network of community health centers, offering convenient access to primary care throughout the area and is the only critical access hospital in Essex County accredited by the Joint Commission, reflecting its commitment to achieving certain performance standards.
About Fletcher Allen
Fletcher Allen Health Care, together with our partners at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, is Vermont's academic medical center. Our mission is to improve the health of the people in the communities we serve by integrating patient care, education and research in a caring environment. Fletcher Allen serves as a regional referral center – providing advanced care to approximately one million people in Vermont and northern New York – and as a community hospital for approximately 150,000 residents in Chittenden and Grand Isle counties. For more information about Fletcher Allen, find us online at http://www.fletcherallen.org or on our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blog sites at www.fletcherallen.org/socialmedia.