UTICA — Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare (FSLH) and St. Elizabeth Medical Center (SEMC) today formally announced their affiliation as the Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS).
Mohawk Valley Health System will serve as the parent organization of both hospitals, the institutions said in a news release.
A new board of directors comprised of 18 members with an equal number of members from the FSLH and SEMC boards will govern MVHS, according to its news release.
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Scott Perra, president and CEO of MVHS, will oversee the management team for the system.
Both hospitals will remain open, keep their existing names, and accept payments from the same insurance carriers, according to a question-and-answer document MVHS released.
The two organizations employ more than 4,200 employees and have a combined operating budget of $537 million, they said.
The Public Health and Health Planning Council of New York State in December approved the hospitals’ affiliation proposal. The facilities also reached an agreement with the New York State Attorney General’s office, which the office announced Dec. 11.
As of midnight on Jan. 21, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had taken no action during its waiting period, allowing the transaction to proceed as planned with final state approval, the news release stated.
The New York State Department of Health notified the hospitals that they could move forward with the affiliation, although the news release didn’t indicate when the department provided the notification.
The affiliation is “an important and historic moment” for the community, Norman Siegel, former SEMC board chairman and chairman of the board for the new MVHS, said in the release.
“I am pleased that our two hospitals will be working together as one organization. It’s a tremendous testament to the vision of our boards of directors, hospital leadership, and our medical staffs. Throughout this process, we have received such positive support from the community and recognition that we can do so much more for the families of the Mohawk Valley by working together,” Siegel said.
It was a nearly a three-year process “that has, at times, been very complex,” Perra said in the news release.
Consolidation and joint partnerships are nothing new for the organizations, they said. Faxton Hospital and St. Luke’s-Memorial consolidated their services in 2000.
Additionally, both SEMC and FSLH jointly sponsor the Mohawk Valley Heart Institute and have a collaborative agreement for the Central New York Diabetes Education Program and Palliative Care Consultation Services, according to the news release.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF MOHAWK VALLEY HEALTH SYSTEM
PHOTO CAPTION (Left to right): Scott Perra, president/CEO of the Mohawk Valley Health System, and Norman Siegel, chairman of the board for the Mohawk Valley Health System