Press Releases (2011)

Elkhart General Healthcare System and Memorial Hospital and Health System Sign Memorandum of Understanding
March 17, 2011

Elkhart/South Bend, Ind. – Today Elkhart General Healthcare System and Memorial Hospital and Health System signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to form an affiliation. The MOU provides the framework for developing a new regional healthcare system and begins the formal process of creating a new parent company that will eventually operate both organizations.

The affiliation will include an equal number of Board members from each organization to form a new system entity. Each hospital will retain its separate Board and report to the new system entity in a structure of true partnership. For the first two years, a member of the Elkhart General Board of Directors will serve as Chairman of the new system. The locally-based healthcare system will further enhance access to high-quality care in Northern Indiana by aligning clinical services, building more comprehensive clinical programs and maintaining two primary hospital campuses: one in Elkhart and one in South Bend. The community Board leaders of these two not-for-profit health systems charged the CEOs to look at the implications of healthcare reform and develop a solid plan for the future.

Elkhart General Healthcare System Board Chairman Don Krabill stated, “Together, Elkhart General and Memorial share a successful history of partnering on clinical and administrative projects that have benefited both organizations and their respective communities. This will be a true marriage of equals, and today is the official announcement of our engagement.”

Memorial Health System Board Chairman John Hiler added, “The next step is to develop the final binding agreement. Both organizations share a common vision to create an integrated healthcare system that delivers the highest quality care and the absolute best patient experience. Through local governance, we will also be more responsive to the needs of our local communities.”

Leading this new healthcare system as CEO will be Phil Newbold. Currently, Newbold is President and CEO of Memorial Health System and has served in this capacity for 23 years. Elkhart General President Greg Lintjer will continue as President of Elkhart General through the completion of the final binding agreement. He will then serve as an advisor for an indeterminate amount of time to the Board of Directors of the new system, working closely with leadership to ensure the success of the affiliation.

According to Newbold, the affiliation will encourage more physicians to engage with the new system entity and become involved in planning for the future of healthcare delivery in Michiana.

“Together, Elkhart General and Memorial will have more than 700 highly-skilled, well-trained physicians on staff. This shared medical expertise will enable us to attract even more specialized professionals to the area and produce the region’s highest quality of care,” Newbold said. “The new system will soon be at the center of healthcare between Chicago and Toledo.”

About Elkhart General Healthcare System
The Elkhart General Healthcare System is an independent, not-for-profit hospital located in Elkhart, Ind. The full-service, 325-bed main Hospital is comprised of 330 physicians representing more than 30 medical specialties, and over 2,000 employees who serve in nursing, technical, administrative and support capacities. To learn more about Elkhart General, please visit www.egh.org.

About Memorial Hospital and Health System
Memorial Health System, Inc., established in 1894, serves as the parent company of the 526 bed- Memorial Hospital of South Bend, as well as the Memorial Health Foundation, Memorial Home Care, Memorial Health & Lifestyle Center, HealthWorks! Kid's Museum, Memorial Children's Hospital, MedPoints Memorial MedFlight and Memorial Medical Group. These organizations provide a variety of healthcare services to the community, ranging from inpatient care to home care, medical supplies, pharmacy services and occupational health services, as well as primary care physicians and specialists. Memorial Health System employs more than 3,700 Team Members and over 500 physicians on the medical staff.

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For more information, please contact:

Danielle Dyer
Vice President, Strategy and Marketing
Elkhart General Hospital and Healthcare System
574-524-7493
ddyer@egh.org

Diane Stover
Vice President, Marketing and Innovation Strategy
Memorial Hospital and Health System
574-647-3585
dstover@memorialsb.org