Baystate Health in Springfield, Mass., has signed a letter of intent to acquire Palmer, Mass.-based Wing Memorial Hospital and Medical Centers, an affiliate of UMass Memorial Health Care in Worcester, Mass.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Before UMass Memorial transfers ownership of Wing Memorial to Baystate, both systems will conduct due diligence. The deal would also require regulatory approval.
Baystate and UMass Memorial officials said the transfer of ownership would better align with the goals of healthcare reform.
"One of the main objectives of national healthcare reform is improving coordination of care and focusing as much on keeping patients well as treating them when they're sick," said Mark Keroack, MD, COO of Baystate who will become CEO in July 2014. "Better alignment with local public health efforts; closer coordination with surrounding health information exchanges; stronger relationships between primary care providers, specialists and post-acute providers — all benefit patients and providers alike."
The deal builds on an agreement UMass Memorial and Baystate made in September. They signed a letter of intent to explore possible opportunities for collaboration, most of which focused on "improving quality, access and affordability of care."
In November, Wing Memorial eliminated 16 positions and cut hours for 38 other employees, as lower inpatient volumes negatively affected the 74-bed hospital's fiscal projections for this year.
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