Wing of Zock touts Baylor CHI St. Luke’s alliance
On January 7, Baylor College of Medicine announced a transformative new partnership with CHI St. Luke’s in a joint venture for a new hospital on Baylor’s McNair campus.
The hospital will eventually replace the current CHI St. Luke’s hospital in the Texas Medical Center. Both the existing hospital and the new hospital will be called Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center and identified by location, Texas Medical Center or McNair Campus.
“This is a relationship unique in academic medicine,” said Dr. Paul Klotman, president and chief executive officer, of the College during the press conference announcing the new endeavor. “Medical schools usually receive support through academic affiliation agreements with their hospital affiliates. This is completely different in that we are part owners. We will be in this together, with joint governance, sharing the rewards and the risks. It is a novel approach to create an alignment that brings in the most cost-effective, high quality care. And, it provides Baylor the independence we have sought in charting our future.”
The announcement was heralded as a “good marriage” by our hometown paper the Houston Chronicle.
And has grabbed the attention of the Wing of Zock blog, which called the alliance “an excellent, of-the-moment example of this cutting-edge reinvention.”
Joanne Conroy, M.D., chief health care officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges, talked with Dr. Klotman about the new venture and the future of academic medical centers. Read the entire entry.
