U-M Health, Holland Hospital launch alliance to bring more specialty care to west Michigan
The University of Michigan Health and Holland Hospital announced a new, three-year "strategic alliance" this week that will support more specialty care for patients of the small, western Michigan hospital and treatment from U-M Health physicians at larger hospitals in Ann Arbor or Wyoming, Michigan, if needed.
Holland Hospital has 2,060 employees and 189 licensed beds, and serves about 250,000 patients from Ottawa and Allegan counties. Its partnership with U-M Health takes effect immediately, but is not a merger or acquisition, according to a news release. The alliance does not alter the ownership or governance of Holland Hospital.
“The partnership will improve local access to care and give patients greater choice and value,” said Patti VanDort, president of Holland Hospital, in a statement.
“Holland Hospital has enjoyed a collaborative and positive relationship with University of Michigan Health over the years, and we are enthusiastic for the opportunity to deepen our alliance to continue serving the evolving needs of our patients and the communities we serve.”
Access to U-M specialty centers and doctors
As part of the agreement, most patient care would continue to be provided locally in Holland or at U-M Health-West in Wyoming, about a 30-minute drive. However, when highly specialized care is needed, patients could be referred to University of Michigan Health's main Ann Arbor campus, while pre- and post-care will be provided in Holland.
The alliance brings with it access to specialty centers for the treatment of such health conditions as Alzheimer's disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, depression, diabetes, epilepsy, geriatrics, organ transplant, pediatrics, trauma/burn, vision and women's health.
“This collaboration will provide the Holland community with local access to U-M Health specialists that Holland Hospital couldn’t otherwise offer,” Dr. David Miller, president of U-M Health, said in a statement. “We have already partnered with Holland Hospital on treatment services such as neuroscience. We know this collaboration will bring more choice and local access that will improve patients’ experience.”
Hospital consolidation continues across Michigan
U-M Board of Regents approved the partnership Thursday. The Holland Hospital Board of Directors approved the agreement at its Nov. 14 meeting.
The deal comes as hospital consolidation sweeps Michigan.
U-M has made other moves to expand its reach. Earlier this year, it formalized a deal with Lansing-based Sparrow Health, forming a $7.8 billion hospital network with 46,000 employees and 11 hospitals stretching from Ann Arbor north to Carson City and west to Grand Rapids. The deal included Sparrow's Physicians Health Plan, which at the time had 70,000 members and 300 employers in Michigan, as well as a Medicare Advantage plan.
Other megamergers also have rocked the state's health care landscape in recent years, affecting roughly 50 Michigan hospitals, more than 150,000 health care workers and millions of patients across much of the Lower Peninsula amid such financial challenges as inflation, Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements that don't match the cost of care, ongoing staffing shortages and rising labor costs.
More: As large Michigan health systems merge, independent hospitals are vanishing
In 2022, Spectrum Helath and Beaumont Health came together to create the sprawling Corewell Health, which now has 21 hospitals and more than 60,000 employees across most of the Lower Peninsula. The Spectrum-Beaumont deal included Priority Health, an insurance plan with roughly 1.3 million members.
And Henry Ford Health is in talks with Ascension Michigan to join their operations in metro Detroit, which would create a $10.5 billion health system based in Detroit with 13 acute-care hospitals, roughly 50,000 employees and more than 550 sites for regional health care.
Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Subscribe to the Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: U-M Health, Holland Hospital begin 3-year 'strategic alliance'
