Augusta, Ga.-based nonprofit University Hospital signed a five-year agreement with the Hospital Authority of Washington Country to begin managing the Sandersville, Ga.-based Washington County Regional Medical Center on Jan. 1, according to The Augusta Chronicle.
The 56-bed Washington Country Regional Medical Center will pay $10,000 a month to the 581-bed University Hospital as part of the agreement. Washington County Regional Medical Center will receive help with strategic planning, access to University's purchasing agreements and a new leadership team, including a new CEO, CNO and possibly a new COO or other executive. This leadership team will be paid by Washington County Regional Medical Center, but part of University Hospital's team, according to the report.
Washington County Regional Medical Center will keep its name and retain its 300 employees, according to the report.
The agreement is part of parent organization University Health Care System's strategy to spread out regionally and preserve points of care despite declining reimbursements, according to the report.
"[Washington County Regional Medical Center has] done well, but to take the next step they really need to leverage the assets of a big system, things like with the supply chain, better buying power," University CEO James Davis, MBA, told the Chronicle.
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