Two Columbus, Ohio-based health care organizations, CHE Trinity Health's Mount Carmel Health System and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, announced an affiliation on June 18, saying they will build on their existing relationship to improve access, quality and coordination of care and to lower costs. The organizations said in a statement that the affiliation will promote collaboration in clinical care and expand patient access to clinical trials and medical education opportunities.
Also, teams of physicians and other clinicians from both organizations will identify opportunities to strengthen the safety net for indigent and underserved populations, improve access to primary care and manage population health, a release said.
Dr. Steven G. Gabbe, senior vice president of health sciences and chief executive of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said the medical center and the hospital have a history of collaboration, including an obstetrics/gynecology residency training program and the sharing of physician coverage for maternal-fetal medicine. OSU College of Medicine students participate in clinical rotations in the Mount Carmel Health System. Wexner and Mount Carmel have a joint investment in Madison County Hospital, London, Ohio, and several quality improvement initiatives.
Mount Carmel President and Chief Executive Claus von Zychlin noted that the collaborative approach will strengthen the delivery system in central Ohio. "We are committed to work together to improve the health of the communities in which we serve," he said in the statement.
The two organizations will continue to collaborate with other health systems, their leadership said. For example, OSU's Technology Commercialization and Knowledge Transfer Office and Cleveland Clinic Innovations have entered into an alliance to accelerate and commercialize medical innovations. Mount Carmel and Fairfield Medical Center of Lancaster, Ohio, jointly own Diley Ridge Medical Center in Canal Winchester, Ohio. Mount Carmel provides a variety of support services to Fayette County Memorial Hospital in Washington Court House, Ohio, and Mount Carmel's MediGold Medicare Advantage Plan has a number of partnerships with hospitals in Ohio.