OhioHealth, OhioHealth Marion General Hospital and Smith Clinic have jointly announced they have reached agreement on a major new relationship that will help stabilize healthcare services in Marion and the surrounding area for years to come.
OhioHealth will create a new, not-for-profit physician employment model in Marion to employ Smith Clinic physicians and other current and future physicians in the community. Marion General Hospital will purchase the Smith Clinic real estate in Marion, and the outstanding shares of the Marion Area Health Center (MAHC) and Marion Ancillary Services (MAS).
The agreement has been approved by the boards of Smith Clinic, Marion General Hospital and OhioHealth and will become effective this October 28. Marion General Hospital paid $17 million for the real estate and buildings, a price determined by a third party appraiser to be fair market value.
“This coming together of physicians, hospital and ambulatory services is a natural evolution in healthcare services nationally and in our community.” said John Sanders, president of Marion General Hospital. “The agreement will bring inpatient and outpatient care together allowing Marion General to become a regional healthcare hub in north central Ohio. This is very good and very exciting news for the community.”
“We have been in discussions with OhioHealth for more than a year,” said David Miller, executive director of Smith Clinic, a multi-specialty medical group practice with more than 30 specialties. “And we are very pleased that this new structure will help us recruit and retain physicians in our community, address medical needs and ensure high quality health care on a long-term basis for the Marion area.”
“Over the last few years, we have seen a number of physicians leave the community for various reasons,” said Robert Millen, executive vice president and chief operating officer for OhioHealth. “And it has been challenging to recruit new physicians, particularly new specialists, into the community. We think the new relationship and alignment between Marion General, the local physicians in the community and OhioHealth will serve to stabilize the healthcare landscape here and be a more attractive destination for young physicians to start their practices.”
In the new arrangement, physicians of Smith Clinic will become employed physicians in a new OhioHealth entity called OhioHealth Marion Area Physicians, or MAP. MAP is similar to, but completely separate from, OhioHealth’s central Ohio physician employment organizations called the Medical Specialty Foundation and Healthworks in Delaware.
As in other physician employment models, MAP will oversee the office management duties, allowing the physician to focus entirely on the care of his or her patients. In addition to Smith Clinic physicians, MAP will be open to employment of independent physicians in the community as well.
The agreement will include the integration of Smith Clinic main campus in Marion and its satellite office in Delaware. There are approximately 450 employees of Smith Clinic. MAS and MAHC employ approximately 250. Services offered there will remain, but will become outpatient services provided by Marion General Hospital.
The Delaware office will be acquired separately by OhioHealth. Physicians who see patients there will be part of MAP.
“This new relationship reconfirms our commitment to the Marion community,” added Millen. “With OhioHealth’s resources, Marion General’s high-quality services and staff and the professionalism of the local medical community, we believe we will be able to recruit and retain physicians in the specialty areas where they are most needed. Ultimately, this will enable patients to get their care locally, rather than having to travel outside of the community. That is our vision for Marion and we are committed to making it happen.”
“Smith Clinic physicians and Marion General Hospital have been working together for decades and now, with this development, we will be able to do that more collaboratively than ever before,” added Miller. “It’s a new era in healthcare for Marion.”
About Marion General Hospital
OhioHealth Marion General Hospital is a member of OhioHealth, a nationally recognized, not-for-profit, charitable, healthcare organization based in Columbus, Ohio. The most sophisticated hospital in a seven-county area, Marion General Hospital has provided patient-focused care in the Marion community for over 90 years.
Marion General serves as a regional referral center, providing services that include advanced heart care, which is accredited as a Chest Pain Center by The Society of Chest Pain Centers; a Level II Special Care Nursery; and spine surgery. For more information about Marion General Hospital, please visit the hospital’s website at www.ohiohealth.com/mariongeneral.
About Smith Clinic
The Smith Clinic, a multi-specialty group of over 70 physicians, was founded in 1925 by Dr. Frederick C. Smith. The present building, opened in 1955, is located at 1040 Delaware Avenue in Marion. The clinic has also had an office in Delaware since 1983. Smith Clinic is staffed with skilled professionals who are dedicated to providing a level of care that is second to none.
About OhioHealth
OhioHealth is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit, charitable, healthcare organization serving and supported by the community. Two of its members, Grant Medical Center and Riverside Methodist Hospital, were recognized this year by U.S. News and World Reports in its BEST hospitals rankings.
Based in Columbus, Ohio, it is a family of 21,000 associates, physicians and volunteers, 17 hospitals, 21 health and surgery centers, home-health providers, medical equipment and health service suppliers throughout a 40-county area. OhioHealth member hospitals include Riverside Methodist Hospital, Grant Medical Center, Doctors Hospital-Columbus, Grady Memorial Hospital, Dublin Methodist Hospital, Doctors Hospital-Nelsonville, Hardin Memorial Hospital and Marion General Hospital. For more information, please visit our website at www.ohiohealth.com.
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