BETH ISRAEL: LONG ISLAND MERGER PLAN ANNOUNCED
Beth Israel Medical Center and Long Island Jewish MedicalThis is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
Center, two of New York's largest teaching hospitals, announced
yesterday that they will merge, "creating a far-flung health
empire in the city and its suburbs." NEW YORK TIMES reports that
the deal "comes a mere two weeks" after New York University
Medical Center and Mount Sinai Medical Center "stunned the health
care world by announcing that they would join forces" (see AHL
6/13). The merger agreement between Beth Israel and Long Island
Jewish "was orchestrated with lightening speed," beginning just
three weeks ago with a phone conversation between the chairmen of
the two hospitals' boards and culminating last night with the
signing of a "memorandum of understanding." The two hospitals
hope that the merger will be complete within the next 30 days.
UNITED WE STAND: The merger of the two facilities would
create a medical center with about 2,000 beds, "equal to the size
of the proposed Mount Sinai-N.Y.U. operation, ... although it
would lack the national prestige of that union." Beth Israel
Chair Morton Hyman said, "Our goal is to create a strong entity
in a very competitive marketplace that will be able to offer
outstanding patient care over a wide geographic area."
MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN?: Officials for the two hospitals said
that the rapid pace of the deal "was a result of the
compatibility of the two medical centers." According to the
officials, both facilities are financially strong, have large
teaching programs and a focus on primary care. The two hospitals
said that they hope that the merger will enable them to "achieve
some consolidation and efficiencies" and will give them "a
stronger position when they negotiate rates with insurers and
HMOs." The officials said that the merged facility will also be
ideal for "providing medical care for families" who live on Long
Island but have members who work in New York City (Rosenthal,
7/2).
COLUMBIA/HCA VENTURES: Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. said
yesterday that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire
Providence, RI-based Roger Williams Medical Center, a 220-bed
acute-care facility. Roger Williams will become the first
Columbia/HCA hospital in the state. Proceeds from the
transaction will be placed in a charitable foundation "dedicated
to funding health care initiatives statewide" (Columbia/HCA
release, 7/1). Columbia/HCA also announced last week that it has
signed a letter of intent for a 50-50 joint venture with
Riverside, CA-based Riverside Community Hospital, a 369-bed
acute-care facility. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Columbia/HCA currently operates 11 hospitals and eight surgical
centers in Southern California (Columbia/HCA release, 6/28).