Sierra Vista Regional Health Center & Carondelet Health Network

to Discontinue Integrative Network Agreement

 

 

Sierra Vista Regional Health Center and Carondelet Health Network have announced that they will not continue with the Integrative Network Agreement launched last year. The agreement was established in April 2010 between Carondelet, Southern Arizona’s largest Catholic, nonprofit health care system, and Sierra Vista Regional Health Center (SVRHC), an 88-bed community hospital located in Sierra Vista.

 

As intended, the Integrative Network Agreement allowed both parties to assess the mutual value of formalizing a long-term partnership. “During the past year, both parties have conducted a significant amount of due diligence, and have determined that at this time, there are too many complexities involved in a formal partnership,” says Ruth W. Brinkley, President and Chief Executive Officer of Carondelet Health Network. "In the end, the partnership is unable to deliver to either party the outcomes we had originally envisioned.”     

 

“The relationship between Sierra Vista Regional Health Center and Carondelet has been very positive. We have been collaborating on several important clinical initiatives to benefit our community, many of which we plan to continue,” says Margaret Hepburn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sierra Vista Regional Health Center. Hepburn further explained, “Our Board of Trustees evaluated the agreement with input from the hospital’s many stakeholders on all the aspects of the partnership. Ultimately, the Board determined that the best course of action for our hospital and our community was to maintain a collaborative relationship with Carondelet rather than to continue with the Integrative Network Agreement.”  SVRHC has many collaborative relationships throughout Cochise County and Tucson.

 

“We are extremely proud of the work we have accomplished as health care partners,” adds Brinkley. “We believe – even without an Integrative Network Agreement – the residents of Cochise County will see many concrete benefits of the relationship forged during the past year between Carondelet and Sierra Vista Regional Health Center. We look forward to our continued work on behalf of the patients we serve.”

 

Carondelet has a long legacy as Southern Arizona’s only Catholic health care provider. Established in Tucson more than 130 years ago, when the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet opened St. Mary’s Hospital, Carondelet Health Network has now grown to include four hospitals, two ambulatory surgery centers, a variety of outpatient services, and Carondelet Medical and Specialists’ Groups – a division of more than 20 primary and specialty care practices throughout the Tucson metropolitan area. Carondelet’s Catholic health care ministry has a history of providing health care access for all, with a special focus on the poor and vulnerable.

 

The Integrative Network Agreement will be discontinued in early April. A smooth transition is anticipated.