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Clark Regional signs agreement with UK

January 25, 2008|Sun Staff Report

Officials from Clark Regional Medical Center and University of Kentucky HealthCare inked a formal affiliation agreement Thursday in a push to expand Clark Regional's overall health care services and boost its bottom line.

Plans for the agreement were announced in November following more than 18 months of strategic planning by the hospital's board of directors.

Officials say the current governance structure of Clark Regional Medical Center will not change, but the agreement will institute a new coordinating committee, composed of one-third UK HealthCare and two-thirds Clark Regional Medical Center representatives.

Through contractual arrangements, UK has provided patients at Clark Regional certain specialty services, such as oncology and high-level cardiology for several years. Officials say the affiliation will seek to provide enhanced services locally.

UK HealthCare officials plan to consult the board of trustees of Clark Regional, community leaders and medical staff to identify health needs not fulfilled in the community and work to extend those services.

"Our hospital board of directors is very pleased to begin this affiliation with UK HealthCare to complement and build upon the high-quality health care currently offered by Clark Regional and our physicians," Dudley Taylor, board chairman of Clark Regional, said in a press release.

Officials from UK also say the affiliation is part of UK HealthCare's commitment to make health care much more accessible locally.

"With this arrangement, we expect to see both increased availability of services and improved efficiencies at Clark Regional," said Dr. Richard Lofgren, UK HealthCare chief medical officer.

Clark Regional's current facility on Lexington Avenue was built in the 1960s, and the hospital has talked of expansion for years. It purchased several acres of land off Bypass Road in 1997 amid plans to construct a new facility, but the property has remained idle since.

After the affiliation was announced last year, officials stressed that Clark Regional remains in strong financial shape.

The hospital saw more than $100 million of business in 2006, chalking up more than $3.4 million in excess revenues, which included $2.7 million of gains on its investment portfolio. Clark Regional's total net assets amounted to about $38 million in 2006.

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