CDH to Join Larger Health System: Selection Committees Evaluating Options

By the end of February, Cooley Dickinson Hospital will announce which of two larger healthcare systems it will join.  Read media reports here.  Learn more about accountable care organizations here.

When news of the affiliation became public in 2010, a lot of people wondered: What is this affiliation about and what will it mean for our community and the quality of our health care?

CDH President/CEO Craig Melin addresses some questions that are on peoples’ minds. Read on below or watch the video here.

Why is Cooley Dickinson seeking an affiliation partner?

Changes in the way health care is paid for and provided make it more and more difficult for stand-alone hospitals to thrive. And the changes are coming fast and furious. Rather than let the environment happen to us, we are always looking at what’s coming next in the future and taking actions in advance, rather than waiting.

What are the goals of the partnership?

The Cooley Dickinson Board of Trustees chose to pursue affiliation to achieve the following:

• strengthen Cooley Dickinson’s ability to grow programs and revenue consistent with providing high-quality, affordable, easily accessible care for the community we serve.
• reduce overhead costs, helping us to reduce prices to make care more affordable.
• build a partnership for entering the new era of population-based care.*

What are the criteria for selecting a partner?

Five criteria have been used throughout the process to best help our care system meet future community needs.

• Value for the community: Proposal that offers greatest promise to assure community access to high-quality, low-cost care in the new era of population-based care.
• Robust local care system: Proposal that offers the greatest promise to utilize local resources – hospital and physician – to meet the needs of the community.
• Resources and commitment: The organization selected has the resources and has demonstrated a commitment to support a robust local care system.
• Culture: The organization that offers the greatest promise for compatibility with our health system values and those of our community.
• Local role in governance: The organization that proposes a model that offers a role for local input into the decisionmaking process.

Where is the process now?

Physicians and trustees are talking with their counterparts at the two organizations, Baystate Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital.

If you have additional questions, email public_affairs@cooley-dickinson.org. Responses will be posted on Cooley Dickinson’s Facebook page. To learn more about Cooley Dickinson’s affiliation, visit www.cooley-dickinson.org/video.

* Population-based care focuses more on prevention and incorporates programs to help patients stay healthier and avoid expensive treatments.