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Rochester General Health System nears new rural affiliationsWritten by Patti Singer Staff writer

Jan. 24 democratandchronicle.com

Rochester General Health System could have a new partner in the Finger Lakes and a strongerpresence in Genesee County.

Mark C. Clement, president and chief executive officer of RGHS, said Thursday that the healthsystem for months has been talking with leadership at Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic about

supplying doctors and services to the Ontario County hospital.

Clement called the discussions a work in progress and while there is no formal agreement, hesaid talks are likely to result in one.

At the same time, he said RGHS is working with officials at United Memorial Medical Center in

Batavia to expand their four-year collaboration into an affiliation agreement.

While coming up with the right terms to describe the relationship may seem an exercise in

semantics, Clement said that arrangements between hospitals fall on a continuum, from

supplying some services to the larger hospital having full control. He said any agreements withClifton Springs and United Memorial would likely be affiliations, meaning those hospitals would

still govern themselves. Clement was not talking about a merger or acquisition.

Announcements could come in the next several months.

In the arrangements, the community hospitals get specialty services that their lower volumes

cant justify from a business point of view. Rochester General gets a potentially expandedpatient base because even though individuals can choose where to receive care, they tend to

follow their doctors.

From the patient perspective, they should be very happy with it, said Mark Schoell, president

and chief executive officer of United Memorial. Whether they recognize it or not explicitly,

implicitly theyve seen the results of some of the collaboration. I think when they see some ofthe programs that well be able to put together, they will find this a good thing. Well have

access to a lot of expertise in a smaller community you dont normally see.

A spokesman for Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic said interim chief executive officer Dr.

Lewis Zulick was not available for comment. Zulick was named this week, succeeding longtimeCEO John Galati.

The alignment of community hospitals with larger hospitals and health systems has been goingon for several years.

The University of Rochester Medical Center owns Strong Memorial Hospital. URMC hascorporate control over Highland Hospital and added Thompson Health in Canandaigua in June2012. URMC recently absorbed the Pluta Cancer Center into Strong.

URMC collaborates on programs with the following hospitals: Lakeside Memorial in Brockport;

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Nicholas H. Noyes Memorial in Livingston County; Wyoming County Community; and JonesMemorial in Wellsville, Allegany County. The hospitals retain their independence.

Rochester General Health System has owned Newark-Wayne Community Hospital since 1993. Itmore recently affiliated with Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, primarily to provide cardiology

services.

Unity Health System does not have any affiliations or collaborations with other hospital systems,

according to a spokeswoman.

In general, the trend toward affiliations has been driven by lower payments for services, pressure

to reduce health care costs and the desire by providers and patients to give and get care close towhere people live.

Schoell said that affiliations have been accelerated by the Affordable Care Act, but we would

have continued down this path without health care reform.

Despite their comparative size, community hospitals often are their areas largest employer.

Clement said that the expansion of services through affiliations has the potential to create jobs.

Clifton Springs, one of three hospitals in Ontario County, has 154 beds and performedapproximately 3,000 inpatient procedures in 2010, the last year for which the state Department

of Health had data. United Memorial, the only hospital in Genesee County, has 131 beds and

performed fewer than 5,000 procedures.

By comparison, Rochester General has 528 beds and performed nearly 50,000 inpatient medical

and surgical procedures, according to the state. In addition to the sheer volume, Rochester

General also performed procedures in fields the others werent equipped to do.

Clement said the health system decided a few years ago to forge more relationships to become a

regional health care provider. However, the hospital has turned down opportunities whenClement said it wasnt the right fit.

Every relationship is unique to that hospital and its medical staff, Clement said. Its builtaround what their needs are and ways we can assist those hospitals in better serving their

community and better carrying out their mission.

Clement said RGHS and Clifton Springs are talking about a number of things, including

recruiting physicians, oncology and orthopedics. Any agreement would spell out specifics.

At United Memorial, RGH is helping to bring telemedicine to the intensive care unit. The

technology, expected to be in place in February, will allow a specialist in intensive care medicineat Rochester General to make virtual rounds on patients at United Memorial and be available for

consultations.

Schoell said it should lead to better results. In the past, the patients we had to transfer out of the

area will be able to stay in our hospital. It provides the support we need for the rest of our

medical staff.