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2008
Summa and Western Reserve Hospital Partners sign letter of intent to explore construction of full-service hospital 10 January, 2007 Summa Health System and Western Reserve Hospital Partners
Sign Letter of Intent to Explore Construction and Operation of Full-Service Hospital
Proposed Facility to be Located in Northern Summit County
Akron, Ohio, Jan. 10, 2008 – Summa Health System and Western Reserve Hospital Partners (WRHP) physicians have entered into a 180-day letter of intent (LOI) to explore the construction and operation of a full-service, acute care hospital in the northern region of Summit County. The proposed 100-bed facility would be located off of Route 8 and would operate as a for-profit entity with Summa Health System and WRHP physicians sharing ownership.
Summa and Western Reserve made the decision to enter into the LOI because the proposed hospital brings together the medical expertise and project leadership of Western Reserve physicians with Summa’s outstanding quality and plans for regional growth.
“We’re very pleased to be working with the physicians of Western Reserve Hospital Partners to expand healthcare resources for the people of northern Summit and southern Cuyahoga Counties,” said Summa Health System President and CEO Tom Strauss. “Western Reserve physicians have done a tremendous job of leading this initiative. Adding our outstanding quality measures and resources will further ensure that completion of the project will provide the highest level of care possible for the communities that the proposed facility will serve.”
During the 180-day LOI period, a Steering Committee will be formed consisting of representatives from Summa Health System and WRHP. The Steering Committee will be responsible for exploring the location of the proposed hospital, as well as selecting its builder, developer and architect.
“The physicians involved in leading this patient-centered collaboration with Summa Health System are excited about the possibility of creating an additional option for the way healthcare is delivered in our region,” said Western Reserve Hospital Partners President Robert Kent, DO. “From the project’s inception, our goal as physicians was not to compete with area hospitals. Instead, our focus remains on complementing the outstanding work already being done, while addressing a need for people living in the communities that the proposed hospital will serve and creating additional opportunities for physicians.”
Under terms of the LOI, Summa will have the reserved powers necessary to ensure that the proposed hospital operates in a manner which preserves Summa Health System’s tax-exempt status and that the proposed hospital adopts a charity care policy consistent with Summa Health System’s charity care policy.
Additional details about the project will be made available at the conclusion of the 180-day exploration period as defined in the LOI.
About Western Reserve Hospital Partners
Western Reserve Hospital Partners is a collaboration of a large number of local physicians to create a physician-led, patient-centered, full-service community hospital. The goal of the organization is to provide patients with a full scope of services, while meeting its vision of bringing together primary care physicians, surgeons and specialists to cater to patients in an environment managed by physicians.
About Summa Health System
Summa Health System is one of the largest organized delivery systems in Ohio. Encompassing a network of hospitals, community health centers, a health plan, a physician-hospital organization, research and a foundation, Summa is nationally renowned for excellence in patient care and for exceptional approaches to healthcare delivery. Summa's clinical services are consistently recognized by U.S. News and World Report, Thomson Healthcare (formerly Solucient) and The Leapfrog Group. For more information, visit www.summahealth.org.
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