Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber (CSSMCW) and Indiana Regional Medical Center (IRMC) and have announced a clinical affiliation agreement that will enable the two healthcare providers to coordinate patient care between the two organizations. The overall goal is to preserve and enhance CSSMCW and IRMC as strong providers of high quality, cost-effective healthcare services in each patient service area.
“By combining the strengths of both community hospitals, we are going to provide patients with true, patient-centered care where and when they need it, thus reducing the need for extensive travel to bigger cities,” said Tom Kurtz, President & CEO of CSSMCW. “Both hospitals provide a variety of services while maintaining the highest level of quality care, and together we’re even stronger.”
The goals of this agreement include lowering the cost of healthcare and making services more available; improving the health status of each community; coordinating the delivery of healthcare services; and better serving the overall needs of each community.
“We are continuing to look for new ways to partner and bring care to the people who need it – where they need it,” said Stephen A. Wolfe, President & CEO of IRMC. “Independent community hospitals are the backbones of many communities, and our missions match well while we work to fulfill these goals.”
According to the American Hospital Association, “Community hospitals are the cornerstone of health and healing in America’s communities – large and small, urban and rural. Hospitals are working not just to deliver quality care, but to improve the patient experience and population health, while reducing the per capita cost of care. A community hospital’s efforts are often greeted with little fanfare, as it seamlessly coordinates the community’s health delivery system. However, its role is essential to the health and economic well-being of the people it serves.”
“Remaining independent has always been a key driver for us,” said Wolfe. “This is another way for us to remain so. It gives our organizations the ability to share services and specialists so that the people we serve don’t have to drive to Pittsburgh to get the care they need.”
“This clinical affiliation is a natural fit for us, as both of our organizations firmly believe in the importance of remaining independent and relevant healthcare providers to our local communities,” said Kurtz. “This relationship will help us both improve the overall healthcare experience as we provide seamless specialty care access for the patients we serve.”
About Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber
Founded in 1906, Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber (CSSMCW) is an independent, non-profit acute care hospital in northern Somerset County, bordering Cambria County. The 54-bed hospital shares a campus and collaborates with Chan Soon-Shiong Institute of Molecular Medicine at Windber (CSSIMMW), a private, non-profit biomedical research center. With more than 450 employees, CSSMCW is the fourth largest employer in Somerset County. CSSMCW’s mission is to provide excellence in personalized, quality health care services through innovation, research and education in response to community needs.
About Indiana Regional Medical Center
Indiana Regional Medical Center has been serving Indiana County and surrounding communities since 1914. As a nationally recognized employer, IRMC continues to meet the needs of patients and employees alike. IRMC maintains its commitment to serving the region by continually re-investing in its facilities, technology and people in order to provide the highest levels of care possible. IRMC’s vision to be the best community hospital in the nation is the cornerstone to our commitment of caring.