St. John's Medical Center (SJMC) and Sublette County Rural Health Care
District (SCRHCD) will expand their current affiliation agreement, formalized
in 2015. As a next step, the two medical communities will jointly explore
developing a management agreement to provide administrative guidance for
SCRHD by SJMC to assure success with shared goals in quality of care and
sustainability.
SJMC operates a full-service hospital, Living Center, and eight primary
care and specialty physician practices based in Jackson, WY. SCRHCD is
a Rural Health Care District in Sublette County, WY, that operates two
primary care clinics with urgent/emergent care capability as well as the
county's EMS service. The two medical communities have historically
had many patients in common due to the availability of excellent primary
care and urgent care services in Sublette County and specialty medical
care and advanced diagnostic and treatment equipment and technology at
SJMC. "This growing partnership reflects a longstanding tradition
of working together to benefit patient care," said St. John's
CEO Paul Beaupre, MD. "It's a great model for rural health care
because it helps keep healthcare local and improves the sustainability
of the organizations involved."
The affiliation from 2015 has achieved many successes, including improved
coordination of medical care for patients who require the services of
both health systems, including ease of scheduling and transmission of
information. In addition, the two entities have worked closely together
on initiatives for quality improvement, development of services, purchasing
agreements, and information technology. In the past 18 months, the partnership
has resulted in the introduction of mammography and screening colonoscopy
in Sublette County, as well as regular cardiology and diabetes clinics.
“We are excited to take our lengthy relationship with SJMC to another
level. Their commitment to quality patient care, not only in their home
area, but in Sublette County as well, makes this an easy and very comfortable
step,” said Laura Clark, Chairman of the SCRHCD Board.
St. John's Medical Center and Sublette County Rural Health Care District
are members of a group of independent community health care organizations
in western U.S that are now affiliated with University of Utah Health
Care. Spurred on by growing economic, regulatory, and operational challenges,
many stand-alone hospitals and clinics are pursuing affiliations with
larger health systems in order to survive and thrive in the new healthcare
environment. In addition to their clinical value, affiliations with high
quality systems are expected to improve overall quality of care and financial
sustainability for small independent health systems. With this as an overarching
goal, both entities are looking forward to the work that will be done
over the next several weeks in making the management agreement a reality.
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Media contact: Karen Connelly, 307.739.7380,
kconnelly@tetonhospital.org
ABOUT ST. JOHN’S MEDICAL CENTER
St. John's Medical Center in Jackson, Wyoming, offers patient-centered
clinical excellence and community wellness services through a full-service
hospital, primary care, and specialty physician practices, and a long-term
care Living Center. For more information, visit tetonhospital.org
ABOUT ST. JOHN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
The mission of the St. John’s Hospital Foundation is to secure philanthropic
support to advance the mission and strategic objectives of St. John’s
Medical Center, including patient-centered care, clinical excellence,
and community wellness.
Note: This article was edited on May 4.