Cleveland Clinic and Community Health Systems Form Strategic Alliance

CLEVELAND and FRANKLIN, Tenn., March 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Community Health Systems (NYSE: CYH) and Cleveland Clinic have formed a strategic alliance to enhance the quality of patient care, improve access to healthcare services, reduce costs and drive operational excellence.

In this period of dynamic change in healthcare, Cleveland Clinic and Community Health Systems recognize that collaboration is essential to developing innovative solutions that address today's complex challenges and unique opportunities. Working together, Community Health Systems and Cleveland Clinic will draw on each other's extensive resources and expertise, maximizing strengths in areas such as clinical services, physician alignment and integration, supply chain processes and other aspects of hospital operations. The two organizations will remain independent entities.

With this groundbreaking alliance, both organizations are committed to the values and close collaboration that will drive enhanced quality of care to patients and improve upon the delivery of healthcare services across the communities they serve. With unique cultures, both Cleveland Clinic and Community Health Systems share a vision of healthcare's future that will help achieve the objectives of each organization.

"As we face an unprecedented transformation in healthcare, we need to adapt and embrace change. This new relationship is reflective of Cleveland Clinic's culture of collaboration and desire to exchange knowledge," said Toby M. Cosgrove, M.D., Chief Executive Officer and President of Cleveland Clinic. "As healthcare reform moves forward, we remain focused and committed to providing the highest quality, value and efficiency of care to patients locally and nationally. Our collaboration with Community Health Systems advances these efforts."

Cleveland Clinic and Community Health Systems come to the new alliance with strong records of success. Cleveland Clinic has focused on developing a model of healthcare for the 21st century that reduces costs and drives quality to provide the best healthcare value. Community Health Systems has demonstrated its ability to facilitate positive change in the way healthcare is delivered. By applying standardized, sustainable processes, the company has improved operations at the many hospitals that have been acquired over the years and is also able to continuously drive advancements in clinical outcomes and ever-improving efficiency in hospitals across the system.

"Combining the strengths, resources, and the unique attributes of our organizations is a bold step that will benefit patients across the many communities we serve," said Wayne T. Smith, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Community Health Systems, Inc. "Our commitment to quality care has never been stronger. We have the foundation, capacity and fortitude to build an even better healthcare system and we look forward to working with Cleveland Clinic as we achieve even higher levels of clinical performance."

The alliance affords each organization notable opportunities to benefit from the other's previous experiences and success. CHS-affiliated hospitals will advance their clinical programs through access to Cleveland Clinic's expertise in medical specialties, tertiary services and innovative approaches to patient care. Cleveland Clinic will extend its reach and quality initiatives into new regions served by Community Health Systems' expansive network of 135-affiliated community hospitals, nationwide.

Initially, the relationship will focus on three specific areas of collaboration:

Quality Alliance: The Cleveland Clinic will assist Community Health Systems in establishing clinical integration programs at its affiliated hospitals. The Quality Alliance model will create a framework in which physicians can share best practices and capture, report and compare data in a standardized format. Over time, recorded data will support predictive modeling for patient outcomes and reducing the cost of care. Clinical integration will provide a mechanism for the sharing of data to drive better value regardless of geography.

Cardiovascular Services: Cleveland Clinic's Heart & Vascular Institute will assess selected CHS-affiliated hospitals for the opportunity to apply the institute's expertise in cardiovascular services to enhance the quality and data infrastructure of programs with CHS-affiliated hospitals.

Clinical and Operational Services:  The organizations will explore a broad array of other engagements to share best practices and produce synergies. These may include telemedicine initiatives, second opinion services for physicians and patients, complex care coordination, and other practices in care and cost containment.

Paramount to the success of the strategic alliance are the strong relationships Cleveland Clinic and Community Health Systems have established with physicians. Physicians across both organizations will have the opportunity for broadened peer interaction to advance quality and create organizational connectedness.

Even as both organizations remain independent, Community Health Systems and Cleveland Clinic are committed to a long-term relationship that will evolve over time to include additional collaborative opportunities and the possibility for future joint ventures. Other areas of engagement may include clinical research, shared innovations and population health management.

"The future requires courage and teamwork," said Smith. "We are headed in the right direction to achieve meaningful enhancements in clinical quality and affordable care."

About Cleveland Clinic 
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S.News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. About 2,800 full-time salaried physicians and researchers and 11,000 nurses represent 120 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic Health System includes a main campus near downtown Cleveland, eight community hospitals and 18 Family Health Centers in Northeast Ohio, Cleveland Clinic Florida, the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Cleveland Clinic Canada, and currently under construction, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. In 2010, there were 4 million visits throughout the Cleveland Clinic health system and 167,000 hospital admissions. Patients came for treatment from every state and from more than 100 countries. Visit us at www.clevelandclinic.org.  Follow us at www.twitter.com/ClevelandClinic.

About Community Health Systems, Inc. 
Located in the Nashville, Tennessee, suburb of Franklin, Community Health Systems, Inc. is one of the largest publicly-traded hospital companies in the United States and a leading operator of general acute care hospitals in non-urban and mid-size markets throughout the country.  Through its subsidiaries, the Company currently owns, leases or operates 135 hospitals in 29 states with an aggregate of approximately 20,000 licensed beds. Its hospitals offer a broad range of inpatient and surgical services, outpatient treatment and skilled nursing care.  Community Health Systems Professional Services Corporation, a subsidiary of Community Health Systems, Inc., provides management services to the affiliated group of hospitals and is party to the agreements with Cleveland Clinic. Shares in Community Health Systems, Inc. are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CYH."

Forward-Looking Statements 
Statements contained in this news release regarding expected operating results, acquisition transactions or divestitures and other events are forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. Actual future events or results may differ materially from these statements. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Community Health Systems, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's annual report on Form 10-K, current reports on Form 8-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. These filings identify important risk factors and other uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Corporate Communications
9500 Euclid Ave. / JJN4-01
Cleveland, OH 44195
Phone: 216.444.0141
Fax: 216.445.3040
clevelandclinic.org/newsroom

Cleveland Clinic Contacts: 
Eileen Sheil, 216.444.8927, [email protected] 
Heather Phillips, 216.445.4517, [email protected] 

Community Health Systems Contacts:
Media: Tomi Galin, 615.628.6607, [email protected]
Investors: Larry Cash, 615.465.7000

SOURCE Cleveland Clinic