North Shore-LIJ Health System, Boca Raton Regional Hospital Announce Affiliation Agreement

Strategic alliance targets opportunities for collaborative programs, initiatives and services

BOCA RATON, Fla., Jan. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The North Shore-LIJ Health System and Boca Raton Regional Hospital today announced an affiliation agreement aimed at creating synergistic opportunities in such areas as patient care, clinical program development and research and education in the health sciences. The agreement -- the first of its kind between an independent healthcare provider in New York and one in South Florida -- has an initial three-year term.  

North Shore-LIJ Health System is the largest integrated healthcare network in New York State and one of the nation's largest healthcare systems, with net annual revenue of more than $7 billion. The health system  has 16 hospitals, about 400 ambulatory physician practices throughout the New York metropolitan area, affiliations with more than 9,400 physicians and a total workforce of about 47,000 – North Shore-LIJ is the largest private employer in New York State. North Shore-LIJ also has its own medical school (Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine) and research enterprise (Feinstein Institute for Medical Research).

"Our affiliation will permit both organizations to collaborate and share best practices to better meet the healthcare needs of the populations we serve, including many patients who live in the New York area and spend their winters in Palm Beach and Broward counties," said Michael J. Dowling, North Shore-LIJ's President and CEO.  "Establishing this new relationship will lead to better continuity of care for patients who rely on both providers for their care. From the continuity and quality-of-care perspective alone, we had an excellent foundation for establishing a relationship."

"This is a very exciting and important development for Boca Raton Regional Hospital," said Jerry Fedele, President and CEO. "We are thrilled to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with one of the most accomplished health systems in the country."

This unique agreement between independent healthcare systems operating in different states provides substantial value to the respective hospitals, affiliated physicians and patients in both New York and Florida.

Fedele and Dowling emphasized that discussions between the organizations identified a number of opportunities for additional collaboration.

"While our preliminary talks were rooted in continuity of care, we soon discovered a joint desire to explore ways that we could learn from each other," said Fedele. "The depth and experience of a system such as North Shore-LIJ certainly presents outstanding advantages to us and will be important as healthcare migrates to new paradigms of care that are focused on population health management, wellness and new risk and performance–based payment structures." 

Dowling stressed that the quality of programs and services at Boca Regional was also a determining factor for North Shore-LIJ to structure an affiliation. "It was essential for us to partner with an organization that shares our level of commitment to patient care. By any metric, be it patient safety, quality of care or national accolades for clinical excellence, Boca Regional is exceptional," he said. "When you couple that with its programmatic vibrancy and its regional leadership in such areas as heart and cancer care, women's health and now the neurosciences, this is a hospital that we can recommend to our patients with great confidence and enthusiasm."

Fedele emphasized that the affiliation with North Shore-LIJ was indicative of Boca Regional's ongoing efforts to not only respond to industry challenges, but to strengthen itself through creative relationships. The Hospital's Board recently completed a strategic planning process that called for Boca Regional to remain an independent, not-for-profit hospital while seeking partnerships that would strengthen its ability to thrive and provide the best care for its patients in an evolving healthcare environment.

Under the affiliation agreement, both Boca Raton Regional Hospital and North Shore-LIJ will maintain their respective corporate independence and local autonomy.

"We are most enthused with this agreement," said Boca Regional Board Chair, Christine E. Lynn. "It is indicative of both the Board's and management's desire to seek out new and better ways to serve our community while remaining true to our mission and heritage. Our new relationship with North Shore-LIJ compliments that goal perfectly."

"North Shore-LIJ is thrilled to develop this formal affiliation with a hospital outside of New York that will focus principally on clinical care programming," said Richard D. Goldstein, Chair of the North Shore-LIJ Board of Trustees. "Working with an extraordinary partner like Boca Raton Regional Hospital, we will ensure that thousands of New Yorkers and Floridians with homes in both states will be able to access the coordinated care they need to stay healthy."

 About Boca Raton Regional Hospital

Boca Raton Regional Hospital is an advanced, tertiary medical center (www.brrh.com) with 400 beds and more than 800 primary and specialty physicians on staff. The Hospital is a recognized leader in oncology, cardiovascular disease and surgery, minimally invasive surgery, orthopedics, women's health, emergency medicine and the neurosciences, all of which offer state-of-the-art diagnostic and imaging capabilities. The Hospital is a designated Comprehensive Stroke Center by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA).

Boca Raton Regional Hospital is the recipient of the 2013 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence^TM for the ninth year in a row and was named one of America's 50 Best Hospitals in 2011, 2012 and 2013, both by Healthgrades^®. Boca Raton Regional Hospital was also recognized for the third consecutive year in U.S. News & World Report's 2013-2014 Best Hospitals listing as a top-ranked hospital in the South Florida metropolitan area.

About North Shore-LIJ
One of the nation's largest health systems, North Shore-LIJ delivers world-class clinical care throughout the New York metropolitan area, pioneering research at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and a visionary approach to medical education highlighted by the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine. North Shore-LIJ cares for people at every stage of life at 16 hospitals and about 400 outpatient physician practices throughout the region. North Shore-LIJ's owned hospitals and long-term care facilities house more than 6,000 beds, employ over 10,000 nurses and have affiliations with more than 9,400 physicians. With a workforce of more than 47,000, North Shore-LIJ is the largest private employer in New York State.  For more information, go to www.northshorelij.com.

SOURCE North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System