Breaking: Wellstar, Augusta University Health developing plan for a partnership - The Atlanta Journal Constitution

1 year ago 56

The assemblage announcement omitted galore details of however the concern would work, including its finances. According to Augusta University Health System, the statement is “an innovative caller concern that would grow Augusta University’s acquisition and probe missions and let Wellstar Health System to make a broader affiliation with the university’s Medical College of Georgia.”

The concern is expected to grow some organizations’ aesculapian grooming programs for doctors and nurses.

The parties person signed a missive of intent, but the statement is inactive successful negotiations and decisions are not final.

Depending connected last decisions, a concern perchance could springiness Wellstar power of Augusta University’s flagship hospital, Augusta University Medical Center, arsenic good arsenic its aesculapian practices successful the surrounding area, and immoderate caller infirmary that the AU Health System would physique successful the future. A root acquainted with the talks starring up to Tuesday’s announcement said they person discussed specified an arrangement.

Augusta University Health System is portion of Augusta University, and yet nether the power of the Board of Regents, which oversees the University System of Georgia.

The Board of Regents said successful a connection that it was exploring a concern to supply “more opportunities for students of the state’s lone nationalist aesculapian schoolhouse to larn and train” portion moving with Wellstar to amended diligent care.

AU Health System includes Augusta University Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of Georgia. The strategy besides runs the Georgia Cancer Center and Warm Springs Hospitals, arsenic good arsenic dozens of superior attraction and specialty doctors’ offices. In addition, AU Health System has been approved to unfastened a caller infirmary successful Columbia County. Part of Columbia County was precocious named the #1 Best Place to Live by Money.com, formerly Money Magazine.

While Wellstar did not contented a abstracted announcement, CEO Candice Saunders said successful the university’s announcement that if completed, the concern would assistance patients astir the state. By “leveraging our respective strengths, we would amended the wellness of the community, code societal determinants of wellness and grow entree to prime attraction for each Georgians,” Saunders said.

Wellstar conscionable this twelvemonth closed down 2 Atlanta hospitals that served a disproportionately lower-income and Black population, Atlanta Medical Center-South successful East Point and the main Atlanta Medical Center successful downtown Atlanta. Wellstar said its determination to adjacent the AMC locations was indispensable due to the fact that the hospitals were losing excessively overmuch money.

If Wellstar takes fiscal work for AU Health System, the statement could beryllium much profitable for Wellstar than moving AMC was. Even without enlargement into Columbia County, AU Health System already serves a infirmary clientele amended capable to wage aesculapian bills than those Wellstar served astatine AMC, according to documents filed with the authorities describing the fiscal concern successful 2019. Augusta University Medical Center reported astir $60 cardinal successful operating income successful 2018, though successful 2020 that fell to an operating nonaccomplishment of much than $30 million, according to its astir caller fiscal statements.

Augusta University Health System precocious won a tribunal battle to physique a caller infirmary successful a sought-after country successful Columbia County, located adjacent to Richmond County and Augusta.

If Wellstar does instrumentality implicit AU Health and a infirmary is built successful Columbia County, that could beryllium an further fiscal boon. Money Magazine successful 2020 named a Columbia County city, Evans, arsenic the No. 1 champion spot to live. “Of each the U.S. towns and cities we looked astatine this year, Evans had the lowest outgo of surviving of immoderate spot with likewise precocious income levels,” Money stated.

If specified a takeover were to hap truthful rapidly aft Wellstar’s closing of the 2 AMC hospitals, it would rise questions astir Wellstar’s motives for moving hospitals astatine all, said the erstwhile main of the aesculapian unit astatine Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center, Dr. Mark Waterman.

“I thought their premier prime extremity was the wellness attraction of metro Atlanta,” Waterman said. “So it’s concerning.”

Where Atlanta Medical Center’s 2 hospitals successful downtown Atlanta and East Point admitted patients who had nary security 15% of the time, AU’s patients had nary security conscionable 11% of the time, according to figures filed by the wellness systems successful 2019. Similarly, AU’s patients were connected Medicaid, a low-reimbursement authorities insurance, little often than AMC’s.

But erstwhile it came to much lucrative backstage insurance, 22% of AU’s patients had specified security policies, compared to lone 16% of AMC’s, according to the 2019 figures.

Augusta University Health System besides touts its connections to specified elite section organizations arsenic Augusta National Golf Club.

According to the 2019 documents, wherever astir 70% of AMC’s admitted patients were Black and 23% white, astatine Augusta University Medical Center conscionable nether fractional are achromatic and conscionable nether fractional are Black.

Another infirmary successful Augusta joined with an Atlanta-area infirmary system, Piedmont Healthcare, earlier this year. Piedmont Healthcare affiliated with University Healthcare successful Augusta. The names are akin but University Healthcare is not related to Augusta University Health System and is not a University System of Georgia system.

Metro Atlanta hospitals person each consolidated nether large infirmary systems. That allows the systems to amended negociate higher prices with security companies.

Staff writer Eric Stirgus contributed to this report

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