Today, we’re excited to share a public report proposing important commitments about how we will operate and uniquely serve our community as a new health system. This report is the result of more than nine months of extensive work by physician leaders, board members and executives from Wellmont and Mountain States, and hundreds of conversations with people all across our region about the area’s critical health needs and how best to address them.
The report describes our commitment to make a series of transformational investments to improve health in the region. These investments will be achieved through financial efficiencies gained through the proposed merger and the proposed new health system’s commitment to reinvest those savings for community benefit and health improvement.
The report outlines important commitments to positively impact health care and economic development in the region as a combined system in six key areas:
- Improving Community Health
- Enhancing Health Care Services
- Expanding Access and Choice
- Improving Health Care Value: Managing Quality, Cost and Services
- Investing in Health Research and Graduate Medical Education
- Attracting and Retain a Strong Workforce
The pre-submission report is the latest step in the process for the proposed merger of the two health systems. Next, we expect to file applications for a COPA in Tennessee and a cooperative agreement in Virginia in late January after a period of public comment on the report. The applications will initiate the state review process, which is expected to extend into the late summer of 2016.
Since we announced our proposed merger in April, we have been grateful for the outpouring of support we have received throughout the region. As we move forward, we’ll continue to provide updates in a variety of ways.
Know that we remain committed to the creation of a brand new health system designed to meet the unique needs of our region, both today in the future. In fact, the further we move down this path, and as additional details of what we’ll be able to achieve together are clarified, the more excited we are about this innovative vision.
Our region has a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a lasting legacy of improved health by pursing a merger between Wellmont and Mountain States. With the approval of the states under a COPA in Tennessee and a cooperative agreement in Virginia, the savings realized by reducing unnecessary duplication and improving coordination will stay within the region and be reinvested in ways that benefit the community substantially.
To learn more, please visit BecomingBetterTogether.org to review the commitments, download the full report, and provide your thoughts and feedback.