BWH, Partners Expand Relationship with Cape Cod Healthcare
Cape Cod Healthcare (CCHC) announced this week that it has formalized its clinical affiliation with BWH, and the Brigham and Women's Hospital Physician Organization (BWPO). The organizations have been working collaboratively since 2001.
Through this expanded affiliation, the organizations will work together to:
- enhance available clinical care programs across CCHC
- keep specialty care local, so that CCHC patients do not need to travel to Boston
- expand clinical trial opportunities for CCHC patients and their physicians
- establish positions for training new and resident physicians in CCHC facilities
- enhance care management models to deliver more efficient, lower-cost health care
The clinical affiliation provides a blueprint for expanding those clinical arrangements already in place between CCHC, BWH and the BWPO, such as those in cardiac surgery and radiology services, and developing new ones in a variety of specialty service lines.
This expanded clinical affiliation was formalized in light of the changing landscape of health care in the Commonwealth, and nation-wide, in which has resulted in community hospitals/systems throughout the country looking for partners with the scale and scope necessary to manage what lies ahead.
"This affiliation builds on the many years of effective collaborative relationships between CCHC and BWH," said Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD, president of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Faulkner Hospital. "It's an opportunity for us to work with CCHC to augment and enhance health care services provided across the CCHC system. We will work to create a regional approach that gets patients the proper level of care in the most appropriate setting, whether it is Cape Cod, surrounding communities, or Boston."
Ultimately, the connectivity and information technology interoperability forged through this affiliation will enable physicians and other healthcare professionals to access clinical information quickly, including information from other physicians who took care of a particular patient. "We intend to devote appropriate resources toward building and expanding these programs," said Allen Smith, MD, MS, president of the BWPO. "Our shared capabilities will enhance these services and ultimately benefit all Cape Cod residents and visitors."
The clinical affiliation announced today is not a merger or take-over of any sort. "CCHC will remain independently operated and governed," said Michael Lauf, president and CEO, Cape Cod Healthcare. "No financial assets, obligations or control will change hands."
Relationships among the Cape's two hospitals, members of their respective medical staffs and local patients remain unchanged.
"This expanded affiliation helps CCHC continue to achieve and provide the highest level of care locally, supported and supplemented now by the resources of BWH, the BWPO, as well as Partners HealthCare" said Lauf. "It provides deep bench strength for our excellent medical staff, a tertiary/quaternary partner for services beyond the capabilities of CCHC, a direct pipeline to a strong residency program, and sub-specialist access. We are merely building on what has been a very successful clinical affiliation for our patients to date."