Bayfront to form strategic partnership with two Florida Healthcare Systems
Bayfront Health System is pleased to announce it has signed a Letter of Intent to form a strategic partnership with Health Management Associates, Inc, (NYSE: HMA) and its affiliate, Shands HealthCare. This exciting and innovative partnership ensures Bayfront will achieve its vision of being distinguished as the region’s preeminent choice for healthcare services of the highest quality.In this partnership, Bayfront and Health Management will together operate Bayfront Medical Center, in conjunction with a clinical, research and educational affiliation with Shands HealthCare, the state’s premier academic teaching program.
This clinical affiliation with Shands HealthCare will link Bayfront with the state’s industry-leading center for research and education, and builds upon an existing regional clinical affiliation between the academic teaching hospital and Health Management hospitals throughout the state. As a result, patients in St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay and along the Gulf Coast of Florida can expect to benefit from leading practices that put patients and families first. Bayfront will also be the regional flagship hospital for a network of Health Management Associates hospitals that will now be affiliated with Bayfront, including: Brooksville Regional Hospital, in Brooksville, FL; Spring Hill Regional Hospital, in Spring Hill, FL; Venice Regional Medical Center, in Venice, FL; Charlotte Regional Medical Center, in Punta Gorda, FL; Peace River Regional Medical Center, in Port Charlotte, FL; and Pasco Regional Medical Center, in Dade City, FL.
“We are extremely pleased to have been chosen by the Board and leadership of Bayfront Health System to create this new partnership between three of Florida's premier health systems -- Bayfront Health System, Health Management, and Shands HealthCare,” said Health Management President and CEO Gary D. Newsome. “The best way to pay tribute to Bayfront's more than 100 years of service is to ensure its future success as a leading provider of high quality healthcare in partnership with its physicians and associates. As a high quality Florida-based hospital system, we look forward to working with the community to enable the best local healthcare.”
Combined, these hospitals will care for more than 66,000 inpatients, 202,000 ER visits, nearly 57,000 surgeries, and more than 500,000 outpatient visits. Increased access to industry-leading intellectual, human and financial capital will ensure Bayfront is able to perpetuate its mission, while adeptly responding to healthcare’s shifting paradigm.
“The healthcare industry is in the midst of dramatic and continuous change,” Bayfront President and CEO Sue Brody said. “This agreement positions Bayfront well for a strong future by establishing a patient-focused partnership that brings the best of our three organizations together. The results will include preservation of Bayfront’s important mission, growth, access to integral resources, standardization of the industry’s best practices and the costs savings that come with economies of scale.”
Bayfront HERO: An Additional Infusion of Community Support In addition to the partnership, a new not-for-profit, Bayfront Health Education & Research Organization (Bayfront HERO), will be created. Approximately $150-million in funding is projected, which will be dedicated to the enhancement of innovative healthcare, with an emphasis on wellness, access, research and education in the communities served by Bayfront.
Along with research collaborations between Bayfront and Shands HealthCare, Bayfront HERO will promote collaboration with other teaching institutions, such as Johns Hopkins’ All Children’s Hospital and other major universities. New research opportunities will reinforce Pinellas County’s burgeoning medical and research corridor, adding an enhanced academic component that propels St. Petersburg even further into the forefront of a new frontier in advanced academics and training.
“Shands’ academic expertise and commitment to education and research, combined with Health Management’s proven expertise in running hospitals are coming together with Bayfront’s longstanding legacy of service to create a transformational opportunity for our community,” Brody said. “We are proud to be building a partnership with Health Management and Shands – Florida organizations with excellent track records of commitment to the communities they serve.”
The Letter of Intent, signed on Oct. 23, marks the start of exclusive negotiations between Bayfront, Health Management, and Shands towards a Definitive Agreement which, if agreed to, will govern this Joint Venture. The three parties aim to execute the Definitive Agreement by the end of the year, and to close on the new partnership by the first quarter of 2013.
For more information, please visit www.bayfront.org. Members of the media should contact Emily Nipps, Bayfront Public Relations Specialist, at (727) 893-6815 or at Emily.Nipps@bayfont.org.