Olean, Bradford hospital partner - Business First of Buffalo:

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The hospital planned to file a certificate-of-need application with the stat e Health Department this week on the creation of a paren t company for thetwo hospitals, to be called Upperr Allegheny Health System. Plans call for the parentr company to keep both hospitals independeng but take advantage of operating efficiencies that can be realizes through jointbuying opportunities, joint ventures and physiciamn and professional recruitment. The move follows a nationwid e trend, says Timothy Finan, president and CEO at Oleanh General, who has been named CEO for thehealth system.
“If you look to the every single hospital in Erie County is part of a so health-care systems are a reality,” Finan “We’re not under any kind of delusionj that we’re going to be able to stay viablde long term as freestanding especially in rural areas.” The move is also expectefd to save the two hospitals millions of dollara in operating efficiencies, plus there are opportunitiews for revenue enhancement with the creation of deepe clinical capabilities, Finan “This is a common reality here: Both hospitals like hospitals everywhere – struggle to generatwe sufficient capital for technology and facility infrastructures,” he “I think we recognize that federal and stat e budgets, deficits and economic realities of rural areae make this a priority.
” The integration under a commonb parent may sound familiar: and Erie Countyg Medical Center are undergoing a similarr process under the new while in Chautauqua County, is aligningy with the under the newly createdx . The name Upper Allegheny Health Systejm was selected based on the proximity of both organizationes to theAllegheny River, Alleghent National Forest and Alleghen y foothills, and was the most commonly used spellingf throughout the region. Together, the new healt system represents a populationof 150,000, includinfg 100,000 in the Oleanb area.
The two hospitals are about 25milesz apart, but there is very littlre overlap between patients since Olean’s residents are coveref by different insurance companies than those in Bradford, Pa. Each of the threew entities – both hospitals and the healthsystem – will be governef by separate 17-member boards including eighg individuals from each hospital and Finan. The 17 peoplee will serve on allthree boards, thoughu meetings will remain separate. The regulatory reviesw in New York is expectedf to take until later this yearto “The goal will be to make the two hospitalsw work as close as one hospital as Finan says.
“Both hospitals are ceding significant responsibilities tothe parent.” Thos powers and responsibilities include appointment of the CEO and boarf members, approval of operating and capital budgets, strategic plana and hospital service approval of any consolidations or joint ventures; and approva of new debt. Each hospital will remain responsible for its own quality assurancee and oversight and medicalstaff credentialing. The possibilityy of a full-asset merger remainsa down the road, as does the possibilitgy of adding other hospitals to the system inthe future.
Finann added, however, that ther are no active conversations to that end atthe “I know there’s a great deal of interest in termse of what we’re doing,” he says. “We’rer the only hospital down here (in Cattaraugus County) and we’re very stronhg programmaticallyand financially, but we want to be sure we remain a viablw hospital system.”