Area hospitals are seeking mergers and affiliations at a fevered pace.
Cleveland-based University Hospitals announced on Monday that it has signed a letter of intent to add one of the last remaining independent community hospitals in Northeast Ohio to its health system.
Parma Community General Hospital and UH have signed a letter of intent to explore an integration, the two organizations said in a news release. A final deal is expected by the end of the year.
“We completed a very comprehensive process to evaluate potential organizations that could best support our mission to provide the highest quality of personalized health care to our patients and the communities that we serve,” Terrence G. Deis, president and chief executive of Parma Hospital, said in the news release. “It is our belief that University Hospitals is most compatible with that mission, our medical staff and the commitment to remain a vital resource for our extended communities.”
Under the deal, UH will bring investments and new services to the community hospital, including expansion of neonatal services that UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital already provides at Parma Hospital.
“Parma Hospital is a vital anchor institution in the communities that they serve,” said Thomas F. Zenty III, UH’s chief executive officer, in the release. “We are honored to have the opportunity to support and share in their mission to provide the highest quality patient-centered care and to join with them and their physicians in advancing the vision of value-driven, affordable care.”
Parma Hospital, a 332-bed hospital in suburban Cleveland, has 2,000 employees.
The letter of intent comes as hospitals throughout the region and nationwide increasingly are forging partnerships.
University Hospitals also recently announced that it’s in talks with EMH Healthcare in Elyria.
Summa Health System in Akron is finalizing a deal with Cincinnati-based Catholic Health Partners, which will become its minority owner. And Robinson Memorial Hospital in Ravenna announced last week that it has hired a health-care consultant to explore partnership opportunities.
Deis said changes in the industry have made it increasingly challenging for independent hospitals.
“ ... We ... have faced increasing challenges and cost pressures that have made our mission more difficult to fulfill,” Deis said. “The possibility of this integration is exciting and holds an opportunity for significant and positive investments. ... ”
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902.