MANCHESTER, NH – Catholic Medical Center (CMC), Huggins Hospital, and Monadnock Community Hospital are submitting a filing with the Charitable Trusts Unit of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office detailing the terms of their affiliation. This filing comes after an extensive period of due diligence, approval of the agreement by all three hospital boards, and, with respect to CMC, approval of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Manchester.
The affiliation is not an acquisition as no assets will be exchanged, nor is it a merger as staffs and physicians will continue to work for their respective hospitals. The affiliation allows for Huggins and Monadnock Community Hospitals to forge stronger ties in clinical partnerships with CMC, as well as leverage their resources to build economies of scale. The goals of this affiliation include providing quality care at a lower cost with added services and a seamless patient experience.
CMC previously announced a Letter of Intent (LOI) to affiliate with Huggins Hospital in November of 2015 and an LOI with Monadnock Community Hospital in January of 2016. The agreement being reviewed by regulators will result in a more integrated healthcare system to serve the hospitals’ respective communities.
“This New Hampshire-based, New Hampshire-focused collaboration allows us to effectively use our resources and expertise to improve quality, cost, and access to health care,” said Dr. Joseph Pepe, President & CEO of Catholic Medical Center. “It builds on the long and successful existing clinical relationships between CMC and these two, strong critical access hospitals.”
“We are excited to move forward in ensuring quality health care stays close to home,” said Jeremy Roberge, Interim President & CEO of Huggins Hospital. “CMC and Huggins Hospital have been working together for many years to improve access to cardiology and vascular care for our patients and, in the last month, have begun collaborating on shared hospitalists.”
Similar collaborations have also existed for years between CMC and Monadnock Community Hospital (MCH), which also work together on neurology and laboratory services. “We have successfully met the healthcare needs of the Monadnock region for 90 years,” said Cynthia McGuire, President & CEO of MCH. “This affiliation is a logical and strategic step to ensure that access to local, high-quality health care continues and grows for many years to come.”
Under the terms of the Affiliation Agreement, CMC, Huggins, and MCH will continue to operate with assets and liabilities remaining unchanged. Huggins and MCH will continue to be secular, non-profit community hospitals, and CMC will continue operating as a Catholic, non-profit acute healthcare system. The hospitals will maintain separate Boards as well as their respective charitable missions, values and traditions. Philanthropic gifts given to each hospital will be used to benefit their local community. Hospitals’ names, logos, and staff will remain. An overarching non-profit system parent called GraniteOne Health will ensure strategic direction and initiatives for the affiliated system.
The regulatory approval process will include further opportunities for comment by the general public and stakeholders of the three hospitals. Information is available through each hospital’s website, as well as on the website for GraniteOne Health (www.graniteonehealth.org). It is expected the affiliation will be approved and fully executed by the end of the year.
