UCLA, Motion Picture And Television Fund Plan Health System Integration

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The UCLA Health System and the Motion Picture and Television Fund have signed a letter of intent that would bring MPTF's six outpatient health centers under the UCLA umbrella. 

This partnership between two of Los Angeles' iconic institutions will mean that entertainment industry members and their families can continue to get health care at MPTF facilities, with the added advantage of being able to access UCLA's world-renowned specialty care and inpatient services.    

This partnership strengthens the relationship between the two organizations, which are already working together on a geriatric psychiatry unit at MPTF's Wasserman Campus in Woodland Hills. 

"We couldn't have found a better partner than UCLA Health System to future-proof the provision of high-quality health care for our entertainment industry community -- care that they deserve and have come to expect from our doctors," said Bob Beitcher, CEO of MPTF. "UCLA has committed to operating the health centers exclusively for the use of industry members, with the same physician group and same clinical staff at the same locations. This is a winner for all stakeholders." 

After completing a definitive agreement and securing board approval, the MPTF and UCLA plan to integrate the two operations in late spring 2014.  

"We are excited and energized about our partnership with the Motion Picture and Television Fund," said Dr. David Feinberg, president of the UCLA Health System and CEO of the UCLA Hospital System. "UCLA recognizes its obligation to help provide the highest quality patient care to residents throughout Los Angeles County, and affiliating with MPTF, which has a long history of community-based, skilled patient care, is a significant step toward helping us achieve that goal." 

Under the arrangement, the UCLA Health System would assume the leases for the MPTF sites, and all 43 primary care physicians at the clinics would join the UCLA Faculty Practice Group, with many also joining the faculty of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. 

All other MPTF programs and services, including "The Home" (all levels of residential care), the 40-bed long-term care unit, the 30-bed memory impairment unit and all social services programs, such as financial assistance, Elder Connection, the Home Safety Program and many others, will still be solely operated by MPTF. 

Dr. Janice Spinner, chief medical officer for MPTF, will remain in her role in the new organization, which will operate as an independent unit within UCLA. 

"Aligning ourselves with the UCLA Health System is the best thing we could do today to ensure the long-term continuity for our patients and physicians," Spinner said. "Scale will matter more and more in health care as the risk for providing care shifts from fee-for-service to larger organizations that will get paid for keeping people healthy." 

The new outpatient health system will be co-branded by MPTF and the UCLA Health System, and an advisory panel with equal representation from both organizations will provide strategic direction.  

MPTF currently provides primary health care to 60,000 industry members and their families through its health centers and Health Wheels, its mobile health van. Additionally, it offers ancillary services like lab, radiology, ambulatory surgery and gastrointestinal procedures and has an innovative palliative care program for residents on the Wasserman Campus in Woodland Hills and industry members in the community. All of these services will continue to be offered and will be integrated into the UCLA Health System at the completion of the transaction. 

The Motion Picture and Television Fund (MPTF) has served for 90 years as a beacon of hope for entertainment industry members in their time of need. As a charitable organization, the MPTF provides financial assistance and services essential to the well-being of the community and is a leader in the development and implementation of services and programs for seniors and those who care for them. The MPTF is supported by the generosity of corporate donors and fellow entertainment industry members who contribute their time and money because they believe in the critical importance of Hollywood helping Hollywood.  

The UCLA Health System has for more than half a century provided the best in health care and the latest in medical technology to the people of Los Angeles and the world. Comprising Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA, the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA; UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica; and the UCLA Medical Group, with its wide-reaching system of primary care and specialty care offices throughout the region, the UCLA Health System is among the most comprehensive and advanced health systems in the world. 

For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.

This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com.

SOURCE University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences