Three Major North Carolina Hospitals Join Forces to Cut Costs

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem announced Wednesday that it will join two other North Carolina health care systems to create a new three-system company. The hospitals will remain independent, but the new venture allows them to share services and cut costs.

Hospitals in North Carolina have been partnering for a while, but this collaboration is much larger in scale. Wake Forest Baptist is joining with Vidant Health of Greenville and WakeMed of Raleigh.

The three hospitals say the new company will improve efficiency, quality and cost savings. The move comes at a time when they are facing several challenges, including reduced hospitalizations, more capital investments and changes in reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid.

The business partnership will provide the health care systems power in numbers for purchasing supplies, sharing services and collaborating about technologies and research possibilities.

“These three organizations have joined resources to more quickly innovate care models and support infrastructure that reduce cost and best meet the needs of the diverse patient, consumer and workforce populations that we serve throughout the state,” says John D. McConnell, M.D., chief executive officer, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

A new name for the joint company is expected to be announced within the next 30 days.