Huguley Memorial Medical Center confirms joint venture with Texas Health Resources

They may have flirted with Baylor but they're getting hitched to Texas Health.
After months of whispers about a potential merger, Huguley Memorial Medical Center will become part of the Texas Health Resources health system. THR and Adventist Health System, parent company of Huguley, have formed a joint venture company that will own and manage the hospital.
The announcement was made during a public ceremony Friday at Huguley attended by leaders of the Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based Adventist Health System, THR of Arlington, business leaders, elected officials and Huguley personnel.
The merger is effective Tuesday.
“It's a great day at Huguley,” HMMC President and CEO Ken Finch said. “The service area of Huguley complements the areas served by Texas Health facilities in southwest Fort Worth, Burleson, Cleburne and Arlington. The agreement extends the Texas Health network south and east down the I-35W corridor, an area that is growing faster than national averages.”
Health care is changing and Huguley and THR must work together and work smarter to more effectively meet the health care needs of those they serve, Finch said.
“I believe this new partnership will be a great benefit to our communities, physicians, employees, and patients as we combine our resources and talents to better reach more people in need,” he said.
HMMC will remain a non-profit, faith-based organization, and over time, is expected to adopt the Texas Health brand. Texas Health will own controlling interest in the joint venture, and Adventist Health System will continue to manage the daily operations of the hospital.
“One of the great things about this 14-15 month dating period, if you will, is you become acquainted,” said HMMC board chairman Rich Reiner. “The hard work is now ahead of us.”
“I think this is going to be a tremendous asset for Burleson and Johnson County area,” state Rep. Rob Orr, R-Burleson said. “You'll see better health care offerings. You'll see improved service for the community.”
This is a changing time in health care, Reiner said, and the joint venture made sense.
Texas Health and Huguley are developing integrated strategies for addressing the health needs of specific population groups and coordinating care, from wellness, prevention and primary care through acute care in the hospital, to rehabilitation, long term, home health and hospice care, according to a press release distributed at the ceremony.
“This agreement allows our two organizations to better serve the people of south Tarrant County, Johnson County and Ellis County,” said Texas Health chief executive officer Doug Hawthorne. “Given today's challenging health care environment, it makes sense for us to look for opportunities to collaborate with other health systems to improve the health of our communities.”
“Both Texas Health and Adventist Health System have strong foundations as faith-based, non-profit health systems that are dedicated to improving health in the communities we serve,” said Adventist Health System President and CEO Don Jernigan. “Huguley Memorial Medical Center's affiliation with Texas Health Resources connects two systems that share a commitment to providing patient care driven by excellence, delivered with compassion, and inspired by the healing ministry of Christ.”
Many Huguley-affiliated physicians are already on the medical staff of a Texas Health hospital and participating in Texas Health's quality improvement initiatives, Finch said. This agreement will expand the group of physicians who can take advantage of Texas Health's quality initiatives and training programs, he continued.
Texas Health is building a health information exchange (HIE) to connect to the existing Adventist Health System HIE enabling the eventual integration of Texas Health and Huguley Memorial Medical Center's patient clinical records. All of Texas Health's and Adventist Health System's wholly-owned non-profit hospitals have implemented electronic health records (EHRs) and can share patient information across their respective systems. The EHR has proven to be an effective tool in advancing patient safety, quality and coordination of care. Texas Health HIE to AHS HIE connectivity moves these health systems into the next level of enhanced care as patients traverse between the continuum of the health systems.
Huguley is celebrating is 35th anniversary. In addition to a 213-bed general hospital, the campus on Interstate 35W in south Fort Worth includes Doctors' Surgery Center, Huguley Fitness Center, Huguley Imaging Center, Huguley Nursing and Rehab Center, the Orthopedic Bone & Joint Center, the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, the Emery J. Lilge Hospice House and the Careity Breast Cancer Center.
THR is North Texas' second-largest health  system and operates Harris Methodist, Presbyterian and Arlington Memorial facilities, including Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Cleburne, formerly known as Walls Regional Hospital.
Founded in 1973 to support and strengthen Seventh-day Adventist healthcare organizations in the Southern and Southwestern regions of the United States, AHS has grown to become the largest not-for-profit Protestant healthcare provider in the nation.
In addition to Huguley, AHS facilities in Texas are Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos, Metroplex Hospital in Killeen and Rollins-Brook Community Hospital in Lampasas.
Nationwide, AHS facilities include the 11 campuses of Florida Hospital, the largest hospital organization in Florida, Glendale Adventist Medical Center in Glendale, Calif., Kettering Medical Center in Kettering, Ohio, Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver, Colo., Shawnee Mission Hospital outside of Kansas City, Mo., Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, Calif., and more than 40 other hospitals.