Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Lebanon, N.H., and Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center in Windsor, Vt., have signed an affiliation agreement, building off an existing management services agreement.
According to the deal, Mt. Ascutney Hospital will remain an independent, 25-bed critical access hospital with its own local board of trustees. However, it will work with Dartmouth-Hitchcock to "improve governance, operations, finance and clinical programs." Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock President and CEO James Weinstein, DO, said in a news release the affiliation creates three "significant elements of a sustainable health system," including population health strategies, value-based care and the reduction of duplicative services.
In December, Mt. Ascutney Hospital began outsourcing most of its lab work to Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Mt. Ascutney Hospital has experienced considerable financial duress during the past few years. Sequestration, among other factors, forced the hospital to close its skilled nursing facility in September.
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