Kingsport, Tenn.-based Wellmont Health System and Johnson City, Tenn.-based Mountain States Health Alliance have outlined a series of goals they hope to achieve through their proposed merger.
In April, the two healthcare organizations announced plans to come together to create a new health system. Through the merger, Wellmont and Mountain States said they hope to improve community health and enhance healthcare services. The organizations also said they plan to place limits on the rates insurers negotiate with the new health system.
Through the merger, Wellmont and Mountain States committed to the following investments over the next 10 years.
- At least $75 million to invest in population health improvements
- At least $140 million to expand community-based mental health services, residential and outpatient addiction recovery programs and tobacco and substance abuse prevention programs as well as to further support children's and rural health services
- At least $85 million to develop and grow academic and research opportunities, support post-graduate healthcare training and strengthen the pipeline and preparation of health professionals in the region
- Up to $150 million to implement a common information technology platform to support the regional exchange of health information
"These commitments reflect months of extensive conversations with stakeholders across the region," said Alan Levine, president and CEO of Mountain States. "The transformational investments outlined in this report would not be possible without the savings realized by combining the two organizations."
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