Scotland Regional Health Care System Partners with CHS
January 28, 2009
Members of the Scotland Health Care System Board of Trustees in Laurinburg have unanimously voted to enter into a long-term management agreement with Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS) of Charlotte.
Jim Mason, Chairman of the Scotland Health Care System Board of Trustees, said, “We are delighted to partner with Carolinas HealthCare System to help us continue to run our excellent hospital system. They have a wonderful reputation for assisting community hospitals be as strong as they can be and delivering on their commitments.”
A Strategic Planning Task Force composed of key community leaders including past board chairmen, physician leaders and senior management spent nearly a year of very deliberate study assessing the hospital system’s strengths, opportunities and challenges. The Board also discussed affiliation at every meeting over the past few months.
“Knowing the financial challenges of the overall economy and the hospital industry in particular, the Board wanted to make its decision from a position of strength, not when we had no choice,” Mr. Mason added. “Both the Task Force and the Board unanimously decided that a management agreement with CHS best met our overall goal of maintaining a strong, locally owned and governed hospital system. We fully support Greg Wood, our CEO, and his management team. We believe the expertise that comes with such a strong and well-regarded system like CHS will give them and us the strength we need to keep serving our community excellently well into the future.”
Michael C. Tarwater, CEO of Carolinas HealthCare System added, “It is a true honor for us to be chosen for this enhanced relationship with Scotland Health Care System. We are excited about working with the physicians, hospital employees and the Board to continue to deliver high quality healthcare in Scotland County and the surrounding area.”
Local governance, ownership, and decision-making will continue. “We remain community owned, with a local board, functioning and making decisions as we always have,” said Mason. “We have not been bought nor have we merged. CHS has an entire division of staff devoted to helping their managed hospitals expand services while improving patient care and operations. They will also help us as we pursue projects with our current clinical and strategic partners such as FirstHealth, Duke and UNC, none of whom are opposed to this affiliation.”
The majority of hospitals in the country, state and region are no longer independent and the affiliation trend has escalated over the past few years. As resources in the health care industry continue to be constrained, the need to consolidate, integrate and standardize grows. Reducing fragmentation and duplication are key strategies to maintain a vibrant hospital.
Mason stated he expects the deal to be effective April 1. “Scotland Health Care System will remain a not-for-profit system consisting of the 104-bed Scotland Memorial Hospital with a highly trained medical staff that represents a range of specialties, as well as The Edwin Morgan Center, Scotland Memorial Foundation, and Hospice of Scotland County.
