St. Joseph’s Hospital will combine with an Emory Healthcare hospital under terms of an operating agreement the two health care systems announced Jan. 3.
The announcement comes nearly 10 months after the two organizations declared their intent to form a joint operating company.
The move took effect Jan. 1. It combines St. Joseph’s Hospital with the Emory Johns Creek Hospital under the Emory Healthcare umbrella, the announcement said.
“We are pleased with the progress of this partnership and look forward to the many
benefits it will bring to both organizations and our patients,” John T. Fox, Emory
Healthcare president and CEO, said in a press release. “The partnership will enable us to expand services, facilitating broader patient access while providing a more cohesive experience through sharing electronic medical records.
“While this partnership has taken time to develop, I have never been more excited about our future. Emory Healthcare and Saint Joseph’s, two of Atlanta’s oldest, most established and respected centers for health and healing, can now begin the work of enhancing patient care together.”
The proposed arrangement will give Emory Healthcare a majority ownership of Saint Joseph’s, with a 51/49 fraction split, the healthcare companies said. Saint Joseph’s will retain involvement in governance of the joint operating company, including super majority voting rights on issues critical to Saint Joseph’s mission, values and Catholic religious and ethical directives.
The JOC has received the required regulatory approvals as well as approval from the Vatican, the healthcare organizations said.
S. Wright Caughman, MD, chairman of the board of Emory Healthcare and executive vice president for health affairs of Emory University, called the partnership “a welcome addition to the Woodruff Health Sciences Center and all of Emory University.”
“The Woodruff Health Sciences Center’s tripartite missions of teaching, research, and patient care are greatly enhanced through the combined efforts of Saint Joseph’s and Emory Healthcare,” he said. “We look forward to combining our distinctive strengths to create a successful organization that serves humanity by improving health and healing.”
