Cottage Health System and Sansum Clinic Sign Letter Of Intent To Develop An Integrated Health System

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., June 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Sansum Clinic and Cottage Health System ("CHS") announced today that the parties have entered into a letter of intent to develop an integrated health system. The transaction would bring the three hospitals of Cottage Health System and Sansum Clinic's twenty-three (23) ambulatory sites together to better serve the community in an era of health care reform. Sansum Clinic, a non-profit community benefit entity would serve as the medical foundation to the non-profit CHS.

"The communities we serve and the patients who entrust their care to us would be the real beneficiaries of this merger," said Kurt Ransohoff, M.D., Chief Executive Officer for Sansum Clinic. "Our ability to work together across the inpatient and outpatient care continuum is one of the many exciting parts of this proposed collaboration," he added.  

Under the terms of the letter of intent, CHS would become the corporate member of Sansum Clinic, bringing the enterprise into the Cottage Health System. As part of the proposed deal, Cottage would assure the availability of capital needed to expand health care services for the community through the work of Sansum Clinic and its affiliated physicians.

"Further improvements in quality, outcome, and affordability will require formal collaboration among physicians and hospitals,"  said Ron Werft, President and CEO of Cottage Health System. "As health care reform takes hold, we are taking the necessary steps to meet the needs of patients in our communities. Sansum Clinic has the mission, infrastructure and track record to play an essential role in meeting these demands," he added.

The parties intend to complete due diligence by October 1, 2013.

About Sansum Clinic
Founded in 1921, Sansum Clinic is the only independent nonprofit medical foundation in California. With more than 150 affiliated physicians, Sansum Clinic provides the full spectrum of health care services, from primary care to more than 30 specialties. Sansum Clinic has been designated an Elite Member for Standards in Excellence by the California Association of Physician Groups and serves more than 150,000 patients (600,000 visits) annually at 23 patient care facilities between Carpinteria and Santa Maria.  Sansum Clinic can be found online at www.sansumclinic.org.

About Cottage Health System
Cottage Health System was formed in 1996 as the non-profit parent organization of Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital (including Cottage Children's Hospital and Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital), Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital, and Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital. Cottage Health System is guided by a volunteer board of directors from the greater Santa Barbara community. For over 120 years, Cottage Health System hospitals, together with physicians, have served the residents of the Central and South Coast with exemplary health care and continuous improvements in medical practice.

For more information on Cottage Health System, call 805-682-7111 or visit  www.cottagehealthsystem.org.

SOURCE Sansum Clinic