St. Joseph Health system of Orange, Calif., and Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian of Newport Beach, Calif., are negotiating an affiliation that would integrate their Southern California facilities into a regional health system. The systems are not formally merging or consolidating their assets. The arrangement could pave the way for the systems to form an accountable care organization, according to Deborah Proctor, president and chief executive of St. Joseph Health.
"Our goal is to create a community health network — we're trying to build a very connected network so that we can better coordinate care across the continuum," said Proctor.
Plans call for St. Joseph Health and Hoag to align their facilities in and around Orange County so that their clinicians can cooperate to share best practices and improve clinical outcomes. The parties said they will explore how best to improve the efficiency of health care delivery in the region, in part by bolstering outpatient services. They also will work together on programs for the poor and vulnerable.
The Federal Trade Commission has cleared the plan after antitrust consideration; sometime this month, Hoag will apply for clearance from the California attorney general's office, which will have more than 100 days to decide whether the affiliation likely would address community need and what other impacts the affiliation likely would have, as well as on antitrust considerations. The affiliation could take effect in early 2013, according to Proctor.
Under the affiliation, St. Joseph and its facilities would retain their Catholic identity; and Hoag facilities, their Presbyterian identity. St. Joseph is a $4.4 billion system with 14 hospitals, four of which are in Southern California, plus a network of outpatient facilities. Hoag is a $1 billion system with two hospital campuses in Southern California, five specialty institutes and a network of outpatient facilities.
By engaging the staffs of the two organizations to better coordinate how the facilities provide care, Proctor said the affiliation will aim to address the high cost of health care and the lack of integration of services along the health care continuum.
Currently, there are gaps in care in Orange County and environs, she said, particularly when it comes to clinic services for the poor and other outpatient services. Proctor named some of the ways the affiliation may address such gaps: taking a preventive care approach that could include population health management, bolstering existing clinic capacity or adding new outpatient clinics and providing a call line to help community members identify a medical home.
Proctor said the affiliation is in line with St. Joseph's efforts, particularly in recent years, to strengthen outpatient services.
Additional organizations could join the affiliation later, Proctor noted, adding that St. Joseph believes partnerships to be essential to improving the care that systems provide in their communities.