Northwell Partners With Nuvance Health to Create New Regional System
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An agreement was reached last week between two area healthcare providers to form a regional partnership that representatives of both nonprofit organizations believe will result in improved and more accessible care.
The agreement between Northwell Health and Nuvance Health was announced last Wednesday and will bring together Northwell’s 18,900 nurses and 4,900 physicians with Nuvance’s 14,000 staff members. Nuvance, formerly called Health Quest until 2019, operates Putnam Hospital in Carmel, Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie and Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck. In Connecticut, Nuvance also operates two separate campuses of Danbury Hospital along with Nowalk and Sharon hospitals.
Meanwhile, Northwell Health has 21 hospitals across Westchester, New York City and Long Island, including Northern Westchester and Phelps locally.
John Nelson, assistant vice president of community, government and public relations for Nuvance Health, said the two organizations share similar a similar mission and values, which should make for an excellent partnership.
“A very community-based healthcare system, Northwell is, they’re very focused on keeping that care close to home, enhancing access, making it so people not only have access to the best hospitals but have access to excellent physicians and other providers close to where they live, and that’s what we’ve tried to be about,” Nelson said.
Northwell President and CEO Michael Dowling said the partnership will be focusing on improved healthcare services for the public.
“Nuvance does wonderful things, we do great things,” Dowling said in a video message last week. “When you bring two organizations together you can learn from one another, share best practices, gain more insights and, obviously the end game, of course, has to be improved care for the communities.”
Some of the benefits Dowling expects will be in the area of pediatric care, treating older patients as the population continues to age and improving end-of-life care.
The agreement is subject to approvals from the federal government as well as New York State and Connecticut, Nelson said. It is estimated that it will take about one year before the approvals are granted, he said.
Once that occurs, patients should not experience any changes in where they see their healthcare providers, Nelson added.
Additional benefits of the partnership for Nuvance include combining resources to ensure there will be top-notch clinical care to patients, which should create better health outcomes, greater medical innovation and having a better chance to attract and retain talent. The latter is of particular importance because of the growing shortage of doctors and nurses since after the onset of the pandemic, Nelson said.
“By joining forces with Northwell Health, we are taking a giant leap forward in our shared mission to enhance the quality, accessibility and equity of the healthcare we provide to our communities,” said Dr. John. M. Murphy, president and CEO of Nuvance Health. “This agreement enables us to make significant improvements to health outcomes for community hospitals and to deliver unparalleled care and drive positive change in the healthcare landscape.”
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
