East Texas

By BETTY WATERS
Staff Writer

HENDERSON -- A letter of intent has been signed for Henderson Memorial Hospital to affiliate with East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System, officials of both institutions jointly announced Wednesday in a news conference.

Terms of a final affiliation agreement are expected to be reached at conclusion of negotiations in a few months, when Henderson Memorial Hospital will become known as ETMC Henderson.

The letter of intent calls for ETMC eventually to invest approximately $15 million in the Henderson hospital, which will continue to operate with its present 25 physicians, employees and administrative staff, according to Mark Leitner, chief executive officer of the Henderson facility.

When finalized, the agreement is expected to provide for ongoing community participation through the local hospital board, clinical equipment enhancements, information technology upgrades, long-term facility plan, employee retention and benefits and physician recruitment and retention.

Henderson Memorial Hospital, established in 1928, is a 96-bed full-service community hospital with more than 200 employees providing a full range of advanced inpatient and outpatient health care services, including 24-hour physician-staffed emergency services, surgical services, obstetrics, cardiac clinic, an intensive care unit, physical therapy and sleep disorder services.

As for facility changes that might be in the offing under the new partnership, Leitner said, "We will have to revisit the facility plan and basically kick it around to see what direction we (the hospital officials) are comfortable with, what direction ETMC is comfortable and what direction the community is comfortable with."

The letter of intent spells out the way the board will be structured once the affiliation is carried out. "There will be a residual board which will serve as landlord in essence and will essentially oversee the relationship, and there will be specific stipulations related to that," Leitner said.

"There will also be an operating board. This will be the more active board that will meet say on a monthly basis to oversee the operations of the facility and to provide guidance.

Within the letter of intent, the ETMC Regional Healthcare System has acknowledged the (hospital's) foundation is a separate entity, but has invited the foundation to be involved with the hospital on an ongoing basis and has voiced support for the foundation on an ongoing basis."

Signing of the letter culminates a year-long process that began in January 2008 with the hospital's board looking into a possible affiliation with a large health care provider.

After receiving proposals from various institutions, the board chose the ETMC Regional Healthcare System in the belief that the system headquartered in Tyler is best prepared and most interested in preserving high quality care for Henderson Memorial Hospital patients, Leitner said.

"The process that was followed by Henderson Memorial Hospital's board of directors was designed to assure that the health needs of our communities would be best served through such an affiliation," Leitner said, describing the process as an intensive study of options for the hospital's future

The board worked with diligence and devoted considerable time to finding an affiliation partner that shares its dedication to providing healthcare for residents of Rusk County, Leitner said.

"The residents of Henderson and Rusk County can remain confident that the hospital will not only survive, but will thrive during the coming years," he added.

Ron Franks, chairman of Henderson Memorial Hospital's board of directors, said, "This is a very exciting day for health care in Rusk County. Our main concern in choosing a partner was to ensure high quality health care for Henderson and Rusk County, now and into the future.

Based on their track record in communities across East Texas and their commitment to pushing technology and healthcare services throughout the region, we all believe that partnering with ETMC is the best fit for Henderson Memorial Hospital."

Franks added, "We are confident that affiliating with ETMC will provide our community with the highest level of care possible, while allowing our residents to stay close to home."

After announcing last year the possibility of a future affiliation, the Henderson committee retained an independent health care consulting firm with experience in hospital affiliations to guide the process.

More than 30 requests for proposals were sent to a wide variety of health care organizations. The board hosted representatives of several organizations to discuss their vision for the future of the Henderson hospital before deciding to affiliate with the not-for-profit ETMC System.

Elmer Ellis, president and chief executive officer for ETMC Regional Healthcare System, said the system is complimented to be chosen and grateful to the community.

"Please work with us," he told a crowd gathered in a conference room at the hospital for the announcement. Noting ETMC has operated hospitals in other communities for 25 years, Ellis said, "The thing we've learned is we cannot come to town and operate a hospital if not embraced by you in the community."

Ellis added, "Within the discussions that have taken place, together we have begun a vision of what can be accomplished in advancing care, saving lives and growing jobs for the Rusk County area."

ETMC System is East Texas' largest health care system. It operates hospitals in Athens, Carthage, Clarksville, Crockett, Fairfield, Gilmer, Jacksonville, Mount Vernon, Pittsburg, Quitman and Trinity, as well as Tyler.

In addition, the ETMC System has more than 40 First Physicians Clinics across the region. It provides high-level secondary and tertiary care at ETMC Tyler, including a cancer institute, cardiovascular institute, neurological institute, orthopedic institute and urology institute. ETMC Tyler is the only Level 1 trauma center in East Texas designated by the Texas State Department of Health Services, while its ambulance service is one of the largest rural ambulance services in the nation.

TEAMING UP: East Texas Medical Center President and CEO Elmer Ellis (left) and Ron Franks, Henderson Memorial Hospital chairman of the board, are pictured at a news conference announcing Henderson Memorial’s affiliation with ETMC.
(Staff Photo By Herb Nygren Jr.)