Merger Update
(posted March 9, 2010)
I am writing to provide a few updates on The Miriam Hospital and Rhode Island Hospital merger process. A tremendous amount of work has taken place over the past several months and a tremendous amount of work lies ahead. Our goal remains the same—creating one academic medical center on two campuses that leverages the best each hospital has to offer. I remain more convinced than ever that the increasingly competitive and volatile health care environment requires us to strategically focus on our market through a single unified lens—while maintaining the rich legacies of both institutions. The recent decision to withdraw the Care New England merger application makes, in my mind, the RIH/TMH merger exponentially more important to the future of both institutions.
Much has already been achieved in a relatively short period of time. We have melded our management teams and the trustees of our institutions are meeting jointly to build a shared perspective on a mutually agreed upon direction for our hospitals. Our physician leaders have been working diligently to explore ways of increasing the collaboration and cooperation among the two medical staffs. In addition, the joint clinical services review process is moving along very well and I anticipate receiving those recommendations in the next several weeks. Recall that I asked those groups to focus on three major services lines: open heart surgery, complex cancer care and complex orthopaedic care. While the groups are examining these service lines separately, the recommendations must ultimately fit together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle to best serve our hospitals and our community. I am hopeful that by late spring I will have a set of recommendations to share with our boards, our physicians and our staff.
In nursing, we have requested and now received a response from The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) clarifying the impact that the merger may have on the Miriam Hospital’s Magnet designation. In effect, Rhode Island Hospital would need to attain Magnet designation in order for The Miriam Hospital to retain this designation in a merged entity. Magnet designation at The Miriam Hospital is a point of great pride and distinction for us—and deservedly so. As we stated at the outset, we will not allow the Magnet status of TMH to be jeopardized during this process and we are already preparing to submit TMH’s application (due in May) to renew this designation. However, with this recent clarification from the ANCC, we will be intensifying our efforts to achieve Magnet status at Rhode Island Hospital. We will also be utilizing the experiences at The Miriam and at Newport Hospital (also a Magnet designated hospital) to help inform and guide Rhode Island Hospital through this process.
All of these developments are important, and we will work to keep you informed as these and others arise during this process. We are fortunate to have two great institutions that, by coming together in new and exciting ways, create almost limitless potential. Finally, our hospitals’ greatest strengths lie not in bricks and mortar but rather in the strength of our physicians, nurses and employees that come to work here every day. I know that I can continue to count on your optimism, your professionalism, your commitment and your hard work as we boldly confront the future and its challenges. I remain committed to the concept that “The best way to plan for the future is to help create it.”