Owensboro Health, based in Owensboro, Kentucky, and St. Mary’s Health, based in Evansville, Indiana, today announced an agreement to establish a clinical alliance. The alliance is focused on improving the health of the respective communities served by the organizations through collaboration on clinical best practices, operational efficiency and access to care.
“This alliance represents a tremendous opportunity for both organizations to further our missions and do so in a way that is cost-effective and advances clinical quality,†said Philip Patterson, FACHE, Owensboro Health’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
“We share similar cultures with core missions of providing high quality clinical care,†said Keith Jewell, President of St. Mary’s Health. “This affiliation will allow both organizations to collaborate and share best practices to enhance quality and access to care, operate more efficiently and achieve advances in medicine and the health of our communities.â€Â St. Mary’s, in connection with St. Vincent Health in Indianapolis, is a member of Ascension, the nation’s largest Catholic and non-profit health system.
The partnership opens a new and exciting chapter in which both organizations will work together to identify ways of enhancing their respective clinical services and explore opportunities for joint programs and initiatives.
Although affiliated, each health system will remain independent and continue to be responsible for its own assets, operations and liabilities. Neither party nor its Board of Directors will have any legal responsibility over the other. Each organization shall continue to be operated under the direction and control of its respective governing board. Funding and operational management for new programs and services developed under the alliance will be mutually determined and jointly agreed upon.
About Owensboro Health
Owensboro Health is a nonprofit health system with a mission to heal the sick and to improve the health of the communities it serves in Kentucky and Indiana. The system includes Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, nationally recognized for design, architecture and engineering and the only hospital in the world to be designated a Signature Sanctuary by Audubon International, Owensboro Health Muhlenberg Community Hospital, the One Health medical group comprising over 170 providers in 29 locations, a certified medical fitness facility, and the Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center. Owensboro Health has been recognized for outstanding care, safety and clinical excellence by The Joint Commission, Healthgrades, U.S. News & World Report and Becker’s Hospital Review. As the largest employer west of Louisville, Owensboro Health has 4,088 employees, and in FY 2015 saw 18,380 inpatient admissions and 823,072 outpatient encounters. A committed community partner, Owensboro Health provided grants of $702,924 in the last year to health, social service, education and arts agencies across the region. For more information, visit www.owensborohealth.org.
About St. Mary’s Health
St. Mary’s Health, in partnership with St. Vincent Health in Indianapolis, is a member of Ascension Health – the nation’s largest Catholic and non-profit health system. We are a faith-based health ministry serving communities in Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. With a medical staff of more than 750 physicians, St. Mary’s specializes in cardiac, surgical, orthopedic, rehabilitation, neurosciences, women’s, children’s, seniors, emergency, and trauma services. For more than 140 years, St. Mary’s has been guided by its mission of serving all persons, with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. For more information, please visit our website at www.stmarys.org
About Ascension
Ascension (www.ascension.org) is a faith-based healthcare organization dedicated to transformation through innovation across the continuum of care. As the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system, Ascension is committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all persons with special attention to those who are struggling the most. In FY2015, Ascension provided $2 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs. More than 150,000 associates and 35,000 affiliated providers serve in 1,900 sites of care – including 131 hospitals and more than 30 senior care facilities – in 24 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to healthcare delivery, Ascension subsidiaries provide a variety of services and solutions including physician practice management, venture capital investing, treasury management, biomedical engineering, clinical care management, information services, risk management, and contracting through Ascension’s own group purchasing organization.
