Health systems expand ties
United Hospital to be called Froedtert South
Froedtert Health and United Hospital System in Kenosha would work more closely together and United Hospital System would operate under the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin brand name in a tentative agreement announced Thursday.
The two health systems would not merge under the proposed agreement but would share a system for electronic health records and the same protocols for quality.
United Hospital System also would change its name to Froedtert South.
The agreement, which must be approved by their boards, would give United Hospital an affiliation with an academic medical center while giving Froedtert Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin a stronger presence in a growing geographic market.
That could lead to Froedtert Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin providing additional services in the Kenosha market.
For its part, United Hospital System would be able to draw on Froedtert Health’s existing Epic system for electronic health records, potentially lowering the Kenosha health system’s costs.
Features such as clinical guidelines, alerts, registries and other tools to improve and track the quality of care, for example, are built into Froedtert Health’s system for electronic health records.
United Hospital also would be able to use Froedtert Health’s data analytics software for tracking and reporting quality measures.
“That is something that they really are looking to gain from us,” said Catherine Jacobson, president and chief executive officer of Froedtert Health.
Sharing a system for electronic health records also could improve the coordination of care when patients are referred to Froedtert Hospital and specialists with the Medical College of Wisconsin.
The agreement would take effect on Oct. 1 if approved by United Hospital System’s and Froedtert Health’s boards of directors.
United Hospital System, which employs 2,314 people and has more than 300 physicians and other clinicians on its medical staff, operates the Kenosha Medical Center Campus and the St. Catherine’s Medical Center Campus as well as several other clinic locations.
United Hospital System did not return calls Thursday.
However, Ric Schmidt,
president, chief executive officer and general counsel of United Hospital System, said in a statement, “As the health care landscape continues its dramatic, unpredictable shift, it makes sense to align more closely with an academic medical center partner we already know and trust.”
The proposal could intensify
the competition between Milwaukeebased Aurora Health Care and Froedtert Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Aurora Health Care operates Aurora Medical Center in Kenosha, one of the health system’s most profitable hospitals, and this year announced plans to build a $130 million outpatient center that would include a surgical center and medical office building in Kenosha.
Jacobson said Froedtert Health and United Hospital System would not negotiate joint contracts with health insurers.
“That has not been under discussion now,” she said.
But she acknowledged that the proposed agreement could led to a closer affiliation in future years.
“We all just have to be open as the environment shifts and changes,” Jacobson said.
“It’s not written into any agreements, but this is a great step for this time and place.”