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We are delighted to tell you that today we will sign the official proposal
for PeaceHealth to purchase Madrona Medical Group. This action was
approved by the PeaceHealth Board on Friday, and will be presented for a
Madrona Medical Group shareholder vote in early April. This is an
important milestone on our path to merge St. Joseph Medical Group and
Madrona Medical Group into an expanded clinic organization that is
better positioned to improve healthcare for our community.
The new organization will be called the PeaceHealth Medical Group,
and will help us expand on our shared mission, vision and values and
fulfill our promise of exceptional medicine and compassionate care. With
this new structure, we will provide seamless care for outpatient as well
as inpatient services. We will be implementing a new and improved
electronic patient record developed in collaboration with PeaceHealth
medical groups in other communities, process redesign for increased
efficiency and cost-effectiveness, and will enjoy greater ability to
recruit and retain the additional specialists and primary care providers
that our community needs.
While today's signing is still several steps away from full approval,
it is a critical step in our transition planning. We anticipate closing
this process by June 30.
We hope you share our excitement for this significant step forward
for PeaceHealth Whatcom Region and Madrona Medical Group. Together, we
will improve the quality and efficiency of the care we are providing for
our community.
Please see the following Questions & Answers for additional
information. We will be sharing more with you as we continue toward
finalizing this merger.
Q & A
1. How many employees would acquiring Madrona add to PeaceHealth
Whatcom Region?
At this time there are 440 physicians and staff at Madrona, including
376 staff, 64 physicians and three mid-level providers. PeaceHealth
Whatcom Region currently has 2,376 employees.
2. Will any employees lose their jobs?
All Madrona Medical Group staff will be offered positions if they
pass criminal background checks and drug tests as required by federal
regulation. Pay and benefits for staff that join PeaceHealth Medical
Group will be comparable to current levels at Madrona. Current
laboratory employees of Madrona will be offered local positions with
Oregon Medical Lab, which is a PeaceHealth company. Current Imaging
Center employees will be offered positions with Mt. Baker Imaging, which
is a joint venture of St. Joseph Hospital and Northwest Radiology.
3. What will the new group be called?
The combined medical group will be called PeaceHealth Medical Group
to be consistent with other PeaceHealth regions.
4. What is the significance of the Madrona shareholder vote on
April 3?
The shareholders are the owners of Madrona Medical Group, so their
approval is needed for the acquisition to go through. They will vote on
the official purchase proposal that was approved by the PeaceHealth
Whatcom Region and System Boards and by the Madrona Medical Group Board.
5. What will happen to leaders of Madrona?
Erick Laine, M.D., CEO of Madrona, has been offered the position of
PeaceHealth Medical Group Regional Vice President. This position will
report directly to Nancy Steiger, PeaceHealth Whatcom Region CEO and
Chief Mission Officer. The Vice President for Medical Group also will be
a member of the regional Executive Team. As in other PeaceHealth
regions, there will be a Provider Council, which contributes to
leadership of the Medical Group. Initially, this will be comprised of
three physicians who are members of the current St. Joseph Medical
Group, and three physicians who are members of the current Madrona
Medical Group. Two members of the Provider Council will be members of
the PeaceHealth Whatcom Regional Board. The following physicians will be
on the Provider Council: Jim Bochsler, John Holroyd, and Don Berry were
selected by Madrona Medical Group, and St. Joseph Medical Group selected
Jim Douglas, Jim Holstine and Serge Lindner. Other leadership and
administrative roles for physicians from both groups are being
discussed.
6. What are the next steps/milestones?
The closing for the acquisition is June 30. Between now and then,
there is a lot of work to be done and a number of conditions that must
be met. These include having an adequate number of physicians and staff
agreeing to become PeaceHealth employees; an adequate number of
physicians who will be part of the new medical group completing their
credentialing paperwork on time, and successful transfer of lease and
other business arrangements from Madrona to PeaceHealth.
7. How much will PeaceHealth pay for Madrona?
The purchase price is based on an independent appraisal of fair
market value for tangible assets. Depending on the valuation of the
supply inventory at closure, the final purchase price is expected to be
between $3.4 million and $4 million.
8. What insurance plans will be accepted at the new medical group?
PeaceHealth accepts all major insurance providers, along with
Medicare
and Medicaid.
9. How many patients will be served by PeaceHealth Medical Group?
The combined medical groups would provide care to just over 67,000
patients. |