Four New Hampshire community hospitals have signed a non-binding letter of intent to create a common parent organization.
The hospitals include Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin, Littleton (N.H.) Regional Healthcare, Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in Colebrook and Weeks Medical Center in Lancaster. The affiliation agreement will help preserve high-quality, value-driven health services, according to a news release. The arrangement would involve the hospitals exchanging some of their autonomy — although they will remain as four separate nonprofit organizations — to develop a highly-coordinated care network.
"We are regulatorily prohibited from working closely together under our current independent structures," leaders from the four hospitals wrote on the Androscoggin website. "Forming a common parent organization, governed by an independent board, would give us the ability to do this. We view this as crucial given the challenges we face in continuing to provide local access to care throughout the North Country."
Hospital management, advisors and board members will work together to develop a definitive agreement during the coming months, and the new parent organization may be formed by 2015.
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