South Carolina-Based AnMed Health Selects CHS for Affiliation Agreement
August 5, 2009
CHARLOTTE, NC – August 5, 2009 – AnMed Health, based in Anderson, S.C., and Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS) have executed an Affiliation Services Agreement. The announcement was made earlier today in Anderson. Executives in attendance included CHS President and Chief Operating Officer Joe Piemont, CHS Executive Vice President Larry Hinsdale, and AnMed Chief Executive Officer John Miller.
The new relationship also includes Cannon Memorial Hospital, based in Pickens, S.C., which serves the Upstate region of South Carolina and recently entered into a long term affiliation agreement with AnMed Health. That agreement enables the two organizations to coordinate operations under a new network anchored by AnMed Health.
The addition of AnMed Health’s three-hospital system and Cannon Memorial will bring the total number of hospitals affiliated with Carolinas HealthCare to 29, reflecting a growing leadership position in the Carolinas. The patient population CHS serves specifically in South Carolina includes a combination of our network affiliations with Roper St. Francis Healthcare, based in Charleston, and Union Hospital District, based in Union, as well as the communities we serve in York and Lancaster counties through CHS medical practices located there and through CHS hospitals in southern Mecklenburg County, N.C.
CHS Chief Executive Officer Michael C. Tarwater noted that both AnMed Health and Cannon have long and proud histories as non-profit providers. All three of our organizations, he said, share a mission of providing care to all who need it, making this an especially appropriate combination. We are honored to have been chosen to help expand services in a growing area of South Carolina during a period of rapid change.
Miller said his organization was delighted to be working in partnership with Carolinas HealthCare. It is an organization with a track record of outstanding healthcare management. Carolinas HealthCare is considered a model of stewardship that honors local traditions and addresses local needs.
Our combined resources will bring a whole new level of healthcare to the people of our region, Miller added. Carolinas HealthCare will be especially helpful in enhancing services, managing costs and recruiting new physicians.
We cannot predict what changes Congress will make to the present healthcare delivery system, said Cannon Board of Trustees Chairman, Calvin M. Snipes, M.D. We do know, however, that by teaming up with respected organizations like AnMed Health and Carolinas HealthCare we will be well positioned to move forward in a challenging, highly competitive environment. The benefits of this innovative arrangement include new expertise and expanded services that will enable us to respond well to future changes and improve patient access to quality healthcare.
William Kibler, chairman of AnMed Health’s Board of Trustees, said the board spent many months evaluating the idea of affiliation and then working to select the best partner. The review process, he said, included visits to several CHS-affiliated hospitals. Every board and staff member we spoke with was enthusiastic in describing the benefits of an affiliation with Carolinas HealthCare, Kibler said.
About Carolinas HealthCare System
With the addition of AnMed Health and Cannon Memorial, Carolinas HealthCare System (www.carolinashealthcare.org) includes 29 affiliated hospitals in North and South Carolina. Carolinas HealthCare employs more than 1,750 physicians, and serves patients at more than 475 care locations including physician practices, nursing homes, surgical and rehabilitation centers, home health agencies and other facilities throughout the Carolinas. These operations comprise more than 6,000 licensed beds and employ more than 44,000 employees.
About AnMed Health
AnMed Health (www.anmedhealth.org) is located in Anderson, South Carolina. It operates more than 30 service delivery sites that include: two acute care hospitals (461-beds and 72-beds respectively), one 40-bed acute care rehabilitation hospital, three freestanding surgery centers and fifteen physician practices. It employs approximately 3,000 people. Over 400 physicians are members of the AnMed Health medical staff. AnMed Health also serves as a teaching facility for 30 family medicine residents.
About Cannon Memorial Hospital
Cannon Memorial Hospital (www.cmhsc.org) is located in Pickens, South Carolina. It operates an acute care hospital with 55 licensed beds and three medical office buildings. Opened in 1982, Cannon employs over 200 people and has a medical staff of 32 physicians.
