Rice, ACMC continue work on CentraCare affiliation

Aug. 05--WILLMAR -- The status quo is no longer an option if Rice Memorial Hospital and ACMC Health want to continue to be successful in today's healthcare environment, officials from both entities said Friday.

That is why the two have begun affiliation talks with CentraCare Health of St. Cloud, a not-for-profit integrated healthcare organization with six hospitals, including St. Cloud, 19 clinics and six nursing homes.

"They are a very large, regional health center and growing," said Affiliated Community Medical Centers President and CEO Cindy Firkins Smith.

She and Rice CEO Mike Schramm spoke Friday to the Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce Public Policy Committee about the affiliation, and the challenges facing healthcare in greater Minnesota.

"It goes without saying, there is a lot changing in healthcare," Schramm said. From changes in reimbursement to new technology and services, more and more medical providers are looking at collaboration instead of being concerned with competition.

"ACMC and Rice cannot exist as an island any more," Smith said.

The affiliation would make Rice and ACMC a not-for-profit subsidiary of CentraCare, but would keep city ownership of Rice. It would be like a lease agreement instead of an outright sale, Smith said.

"(There is) a lot more to come and a lot more detail to work out," Schramm said.

Entering into a partnership with CentraCare would bring several positive consequences to ACMC and Rice, the two CEOs said. It would better support the needed services for an aging population, ease the transition of patients through the healthcare system, offer increased access to specialists at the local level and enhance financial stability of all the parties through investment in technology and talent while spreading the cost across the larger system.

Most importantly, they said, it will allow Rice, ACMC and CentraCare to provide high-quality and affordable healthcare to the region's patients. Smith said job losses are not expected, but there will be changes in how things operate.

"We can provide the best care, take care of our people and bring costs down," she said of the proposed changes.

The parties began discussions in earnest in late May, when the letters of intent to enter into negotiations were approved by ACMC, Rice and the Willmar City Council. Throughout the summer, the agreement is being shaped, with organizational approvals sometime this fall.

"We have a pretty tight timeline," Smith said.

The goal is to have the new partnership finalized by January 2018.

"That is the hope, when we'll have the papers signed," Schramm said.

Rice and ACMC have been working in partnership for almost three decades, first with the Willmar Surgery Center and more recently with the establishment of Willmar Medical Services in 2008.

"We were ahead of our time," Smith said.

Together they see thousands of patients a year and can offer a multitude of services and treatments. Partnering with CentraCare will only add to that.

It will bring "the development of a new regional healthcare delivery partnership," Schramm said.

Both Smith and Schramm said they feel CentraCare will be a good partner for their organizations.

"They are a regional player. We think they are very much like us. We believe in the same things," Schramm said, including putting patients first and working together to improve care and the health of the population they serve.

While there is still much to be worked out as the affiliation process continues, including coming up with a new name for the organization, the leaders of ACMC and Rice feel this is definitely the right direction to go, especially with how fast healthcare is changing.

"It is not going to get any easier. This is a smart move for the patients we serve," Smith said.

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