Portland-based Oregon Health & Science University has filed a healthcare market oversight notice with the Oregon Health Authority that details plans to become an integrated, full-service public university health system with Portland, Ore.-based Legacy Health.
The two parties signed a definitive agreement to come together as one health system under OHSU Health in late May. The combined system would comprise 12 hospitals, more than 32,000 employees and become one of the biggest providers of Medicaid services to members in Oregon.
Here are seven things to know about the notice:
1. The notice development was led by OHSU and Legacy clinicians, employees and subject-matter experts through work groups that focused on health equity, cost, quality and access.
2. Through the OHSU-Legacy integration, OHSU will expand access to care through shorter primary, specialty and hospital care wait times, increased preventative care access, clinical trials and innovative research, and increased virtual care options.
3. OHSU committed $1 billion in investments to Legacy Health buildings, technology, equipment and other infrastructure to help maintain and expand healthcare services.
4. The integrated health system will train more clinicians and employees to meet workforce needs across the system and state. OHSU has also worked with labor partners to help create jobs. "Our unions commend OHSU for hearing the voices of their employees and working closely with labor representatives to shape these commitments, ensuring they reflect the needs and aspirations of healthcare worker," said a spokesperson in a Sept. 26 joint news release shared with Becker's from the Service Employees International Union, the Oregon American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the Oregon Nurses Association. "We are confident that this acquisition will lead to substantial improvements in patient care and create a workplace where every employee is valued and supported."
5. Once the acquisition closes, Legacy Health Foundation will become an independent organization with a new name and board. It will promote healthcare access and equity in the Oregon and southwest Washington areas.
6. Once the OHA HCO program is finished reviewing the application, OHA will start its preliminary review. OHSU and Legacy Health plan to complete the transaction by spring 2025.
7. "The OHSU-Legacy integration gives Oregon what it urgently needs to ensure people get the right care at the right place and at the right time, and to limit cost growth by preserving and improving existing community resources and services," said Danny Jacobs, M.D, president of OHSU, in a Sept. 26 news release. "Becoming one public university health system will ultimately benefit everyone, including those who have been historically underserved, and propel Oregon forward as a local and national leader in health, education and science."