Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals severed a historical rivalry when they began collaborating shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic. Both CEOs discussed four ways a partnership can benefit both healthcare systems post-pandemic during a March 9 radio segment on Radio Advisory.
Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, both based in Cleveland, are two of the largest healthcare systems in Northeast Ohio — and they're direct competitors.
Tom Mihaljevic, MD, CEO and president of the Cleveland Clinic, and Cliff Megerian, MD, the president and incoming CEO of University Hospitals, began discussing a collaboration shortly before the pandemic in hopes their combined resources could create synergy, and they've rolled out several joint initiatives to combat COVID-19 in the last year, including Ohio's first drive-thru testing site.
Four ways a hospital partnership can be mutually beneficial:
1. With their resources combined, both CEOs felt their health systems were better aligned to be awarded grants, citing winning a training grant by the National Institutes of Health.
2. The partnership enables recruitment. Dr. Megerian said when they recruit people who have spouses and his hospital cannot hire both, they can look for a position in the other system.
3. Noncompetitive areas like supply chains and laundry can create back office resources the hospitals can use to give each other advantages.
4. The partnership could result in an increase in meaningful research output by combined resources and research professionals.
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