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Bon Secours Health System, Bon Secours Charity Health Systems (BSCHS) and Westchester Medical Center are holding discussions on creating a joint venture corporate relationship. Under the arrangement Westchester Medical Center would become the “the majority co-member of BSCHS.”
But one thing that won’t be up for discussion is the essential character of Bon Secours as a Catholic institution, assured Deborah Marshall, a spokesperson for BSCHS.
“It was one the priorities of our board of directors and with Bon Secours Health System that we be able to maintain our Catholic identity and our footprint as it currently exists in our ministry, and it was certainly a very salient point as we looked at Westchester for this joint venture,” Ms. Marshall said.
Bon Secours Charity Health System is a healthcare provider that serves nearly 1 million people in the lower Hudson Valley. It also serves people in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. BSCHS, comprised of Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Suffern, Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis, St. Anthony Community Hospital in Warwick, plus a certified home health agency, two long-term care facilities, an assisted living home facility and other medical programs, has received national recognition and numerous awards.
Bon Secours System has received the Distinguished Hospital Award by Healthgrades and been listed by Truven Health Analytics as one of the best 100 hospitals nationwide for cardiac surgery.
Ms. Marshall said Bon Secours brings to the joint venture significant market reach in Orange and Rockland Country. Under the joint venture management and oversight would be provided by Westchester Medical Center, which is based in Valhalla.
Bon Secours Health System is a $3.5 billion, non-profit Catholic Health System based in Marriottsville, Md. that owns, manages or jointly ventures 19 acute-care hospitals, one psychiatric hospital, five nursing facilities, four assisted living facilities and 14 home care and hospice programs.
Westchester Medical Center is the 895-bed regional medical organization serving New York’s Hudson Valley region and beyond and encompasses a regional academic medical center, children’s hospital, community hospital, two inpatient behavioral centers, homecare and other outpatient and related services.
“Westchester Medical Center’s historic mission has been to ensure that all residents of the Hudson Valley have the finest healthcare available as close to home as possible,” said Michael D. Israel, Westchester president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
“Our focus remains protecting the valued local healthcare services that the residents of this region have come to expect and deserve.”
Dr. Mary Leahy, chief executive officer of Bon Secours Charity Health System, described the venture as “transformative” and said it would allow the involved health organizations to thrive in a climate of change in healthcare services.
“We share a common vision of clinical and operational excellence and a keen desire to maintain the long-held mission of Bon Secours and the Sisters of Charity,” she said.
Ms. Marshall told CNY discussions, which began in December, are ongoing.
“We’re in the negotiations and due diligence process, which is going to go on for three months or so. Right now we are in exclusive conversations with them,” she explained. “It is a lengthy process and very arduous but its something that is necessary to make certain that not only would a joint venture be successful but also that both parties are fully aware of the scope of both business operations.”
