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Healthy relationship

January 30, 2008|Sun editorial

When a small not-for-profit hospital joins with a large institution like a university medical center, it's better to do so from a position of strength.

That has been the case with Clark Regional Medical Center's recent decision to affiliate with UK HealthCare. According to Dudley Taylor, chairman of the board of Clark Regional, that decision came about through the initiation of the Winchester hospital's board, which searched for a partnership that would best meet its needs.

At this point it serves no purpose to say who the other suitors were or why they were not chosen, but rather to explain why this one is a good match.

UK Health Care, which, financially is a large part of the state's flagship university, can bring great resources to the community hospital, such as specialized physician and diagnostic services, and make Clark Regional, with $38 million in net assets in 2006, even more fiscally sound. It may also help the hospital achieve its goal of eventually constructing a new, larger facility on land it purchased on the Bypass in 1997.

Unlike the University of Kentucky health network's recent takeover of Samaritan Hospital in Lexington, which one official described as a "fire sale," the relationship between UK HealthCare and Clark Regional resulted in a signed agreement last Thursday only after 18 months of negotiations. The resulting governing structure includes a coordinating committee with two-thirds of its representatives from Clark Regional and one-third from UK.

UK makes no secret of the fact that it may someday want to own and manage Clark Regional, but the local hospital is in a good position to determine the boundaries of the affiliation, both now and in the near future.

Now that the agreement is official, the next step, say UK Health Care officials, is to talk with the local medical staff, community leaders and Clark Regional board members to determine what health care needs in Winchester and Clark County need more attention and to improve services to meet those needs.

That's what we call a healthy relationship.

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