[SteelTown]

Made a thread for all events related to HHS.

St. Peter’s Hospital, HHS announce merger

April 29, 2008
By WADE HEMSWORTH
The Hamilton Spectator


St. Peter’s Hospital is amalgamating with Hamilton Health Sciences in an effort to bring better care to Hamilton’s aging population.

The organizations announced their plan in a joint news conference Tuesday,  after their respective boards unanimously approved the merger.

No job losses are anticipated as a result of the amalgamation between St. Peter’s, which operates a 250-bed chronic-care hospital, and HHS, with  nearly 1,000 beds spread throughout sites in the city including McMaster, Chedoke, Henderson and Hamilton general sites.

The move has been planned quietly over the past several months  and is designed to create more seamless care for chronic-care patients — a group composed largely of seniors — whose care is largely shared between the two hospital organizations.

Today, 84 per cent of patients admitted to St. Peter’s from other hospitals come from HHS facilities, while  75 per cent of St. Peter’s patients requiring acute hospital care are treated at HHS facilities.

The goal of merging the two systems is to share knowledge, skills and experience to deliver more effective and efficient care.

The legal formalities of the amalgamation are expected to be complete this summer, and the merger is to take place gradually.