Kennedy Health And Jefferson Sign Definitive Agreement

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Kennedy Health and Jefferson have entered into a binding Definitive Agreement that spells out the terms of how Kennedy will integrate with Jefferson Health, the combined clinical entity formed by the merger of Abington and Jefferson in May 2015, and further expanded with the addition of Aria Health in July 2016.

With the Definitive Agreement in place, Kennedy and Jefferson will take the next steps toward finalizing the integration by filing for all necessary regulatory reviews and approvals. The transaction is expected to be completed following New Jersey's Community Health Care Assets Protection Act review process.

"The integration of Kennedy into Jefferson strengthens our distinct approach to reimagining patient care throughout Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, ensuring that high-quality health care is available right in the community," said Stephen Klasko, M.D., MBA, President and CEO of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health. "Kennedy Health, under Joe Devine's leadership, is one of the great success stories in New Jersey, best exemplified by their recent A grade from Leapfrog for quality and safety."

Kennedy Health's President and CEO Joseph W. Devine said, "Kennedy and Jefferson share a common culture of commitment to our patients, physicians and employees. This transaction will benefit the residents of southern New Jersey by bringing together enhanced clinical services in the communities we serve. As we transform health care across the region, the focus will be on continuing to provide highly personalized, high-quality health care in convenient settings close to home."

The boards of Kennedy and Jefferson unanimously approved the signing of the Definitive Agreement, which extends the shared governance model that was established with the integration of Abington, Aria and Jefferson. The agreement provides that Kennedy - like Jefferson, Abington and Aria - will have equal representation on the expanded Jefferson board.

Together, Jefferson and Kennedy will determine the strategic priorities in southern New Jersey moving forward and expect to serve more patients within New Jersey. Plans are for Kennedy's workforce to remain the same across all locations and its patients will receive enhanced services provided by the same familiar, trusted physicians, nurses and hospital staff.

In addition, the Definitive Agreement outlines several key commitments to the community. Kennedy will:

• Complete construction of a multi-specialty medical office building, an enclosed parking facility and a new hospital patient tower at its Cherry Hill hospital campus. At the Washington Township hospital campus, planning will proceed for a new hospital patient tower and enclosed parking facility.
• Maintain their academic and clinical affiliation with the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Joseph W. Devine will remain President and CEO of Kennedy Health, while having a leadership role with Jefferson as an Executive Vice President, focusing on the organization's growth strategy and service expansion in New Jersey.

The Definitive Agreement comes after Kennedy and Jefferson signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) in January 2016. The LOI was the culmination of a two-year strategic planning and partnership exploration process at Kennedy.

"We are confident that this is the right decision for our community and our patients," Devine continued. "Expanding on our existing partnership with Jefferson will allow us to offer patients enhanced, innovative healthcare services to meet our mission—into the future."

To learn more, visit www.kennedyhealth.org/kennedyforward

About Kennedy Health
Kennedy Health is a health services delivery system serving the communities of southern New Jersey. Established in1965, Kennedy meets the community's health care needs with services at its hospital campuses in Cherry Hill, Stratford and Washington Township, NJ, and at outpatient facilities throughout Camden and Gloucester counties. Kennedy Health employs more than 4,600 associates and has more than 900 Medical Staff members. Kennedy has been recognized three times as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in America, as well as being named a "Top Workplace" by Philly.com three consecutive times (2014, 2015, 2016). Kennedy University Hospital's three locations, which have a total of 607 beds, each received an "A" grade in the most recent Leapfrog Group Hospital Safety Score (Spring 2016) for effectively preventing errors, injuries and infections. Kennedy University Hospital is the primary teaching hospital of Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (RowanSOM). Kennedy is also a member of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Network at Jefferson and the Jefferson Neurosciences Network. For more information, visit www.kennedyhealth.org

About Jefferson 
Jefferson, through its academic and clinical entities of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health, is reimagining health care for the greater Philadelphia region and southern New Jersey. Since its mergers with Abington Health and Aria Health, Jefferson now has 23,000 people dedicated to providing the highest-quality, compassionate clinical care for patients, educating the health professionals of tomorrow, and discovering new treatments and therapies to define the future of care. With a university and hospital that date to 1824, today Jefferson is comprised of six colleges, nine hospitals, 32 outpatient and urgent care locations, and a multitude of physician practices throughout the region, serving more than 96,000 inpatients, 363,000 emergency patients and 1.9 million outpatient visits annually.

For more information and a complete listing of Jefferson services and locations, visit www.jefferson.edu.

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SOURCE Jefferson