Trustees: Medical Center Restructuring, Harding Merger

TRUSTEES APPROVE MEDICAL CENTER REORGANIZATION, HARDING MERGER

   COLUMBUS -- The Ohio State University Board of Trustees on Wednesday (9/1) approved a medical center restructuring and a Harding Hospital merger, and authorized Ohio State to join an Elder Services Network.

Trustees vote to restructure medical center

   In a move designed to enhance patient services and achieve even higher levels of health care excellence, the Board of Trustees voted to restructure the university's academic medical center.

   "Ohio State's medical center is already one of the most comprehensive medical centers in the country," said William E. Kirwan, university president. "And it is one of the nation's finest. We believe we have the potential to be at the very forefront of health care delivery, and the changes the board adopted today will help us fulfill that potential."

   A key element of the restructuring is the creation of the position of senior vice president for health sciences and dean of the College of Medicine and Public Health. This position would unify the now-separate positions of vice president for health sciences and dean of the College of Medicine and Public Health. The senior vice president and dean will have authority over all units of the academic medical center.

   The board also created a new position of vice president for health services, a position that will have responsibility for the operation of all hospitals and facilities used in the delivery of health services.

   These positions will be established effective on Dec. 1, 1999, and a national search for the position of senior vice president for health sciences and dean of the College of Medicine and Public Health will be launched within the near future. Kirwan will appoint the search committee for that task.

   "This is an extremely important move, not only for the medical center but for the university as a whole," Kirwan said. "There is a widely shared perception that attainment of national preeminence as a university requires a concurrent quest for excellence by the academic medical center. The university's goal of moving to the forefront of American public institutions of higher education is widely known, and this will help us achieve that goal."

   The restructuring of the academic medical center follows a recommendation of the 1997 Governance Report to the board submitted by McKinsey and Co., which facilitated a comprehensive assessment of the university's structure, organization and management.

Harding operations to merge with Ohio State

   Under a merger approved by trustees, the operations of Harding Hospital, a leading behavioral health hospital and outpatient network based in Worthington, will be integrated into The Ohio State University Medical Center.

   Since 1995, Harding Hospital and Ohio State have been working under a joint operating agreement that created a single management structure for clinical, administrative, academic and managed care efforts.

   Dr. George T. Harding IV, chair of Harding Medical Center and grandson of George T. Harding II, a physician and psychiatrist who founded the hospital in 1916, said the integration assures patients and the public the long-standing services and high quality of care they've received for many years from Harding Hospital will continue.

   "Harding's fine tradition of caring for patients will carry on for many years to come and be nurtured in an environment that combines the exceptional talents and resources of Harding and Ohio State," Harding said.

   Improved clinical care and cost efficiencies have resulted from the partnership between Harding and Ohio State and a full merger will be beneficial to both parties, according to Dr. Sul Ross Thorward, Harding president and chief operating officer for the joint venture. He said the integration also helps make behavioral health care more available in the community.

   "With the recent addition of OSU Hospitals East to University Hospitals' network, we'll expand to seven the number of sites in the Columbus area where the public can receive behavioral health care from OSU/Harding providers," he added.

   The joint venture was initially proposed in 1995 as a way to improve services and lower costs through the reduction of duplication and the expansion of the delivery network, according to R. Reed Fraley, who has served as chief executive officer of the joint venture and is executive director of The Ohio State University Hospitals.

   "The integration of clinical services and collaboration between both hospitals has gone well during the past few years," Fraley said. "With a more complete and integrated operating arrangement we have the potential to further develop the behavioral health program by strengthening our services while achieving additional efficiencies."

   Harding Hospital and University Medical Center have a long history of working together. In 1966, a formal affiliation for post-graduate training in psychiatry was developed, and in 1995 the two independent residency programs merged to provide psychiatrists in training with a more comprehensive learning experience. The Ohio State University Medical Center opened a MedOhio Family Care Center on the Harding campus in 1994.

Board endorses Elder Services Network membership

   Trustees voted to authorize Ohio State's membership with the Central Ohio Area Elder Services Network, a collaborative effort that will promote and support community-based services for older adults.

   The University Medical Center will join eight founding members of the Elder Services Network. They include Mount Carmel Health System, Life Care Alliance, Wexner Heritage Village, First Community Village, Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Systems, Heritage Day Health Centers, Ohio Health, and Elder Choices of Central Ohio.

   Ohio State's Medical Center is expected to participate in developing programs and providing education, case management and adult day care services.

   Ohio State's initial cost of joining the Elder Services Network is being funded through a grant from the National Council on Aging and AT&T.

   In other business, trustees also approved amendments to the medical staff bylaws and rules and regulations of the Ohio State University Hospitals, the medical staff bylaws of The Ohio State University Hospitals-East, and the medical staff bylaws of the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

Contact:
Lee Tashjian, vice president for University Relations, (614) 292-4373 (medical center restructuring)
David Crawford, Medical Center Communications, (614) 293-3737 (Harding merger)