Proposed merger could bode well for Helen Ellis Memorial

A proposed merger between two Central Florida based health care systems could prove a boon to Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital, according to a ranking official of one of the concerns.

The possible link-up of University Community Health and Adventist Health System would, among other things, help Helen Ellis Memorial inaugurate a heart surgery program, according to Norm Stein, president and CEO of UCH.

Tampa-based UCH operates Helen Ellis Memorial under an agreement with the city of Tarpon Springs. The city owns the hospital's buildings and grounds.

In 1999, UCH and Adventist joined forces in a bid to win the right to run Helen Ellis Memorial. At the time, a nonprofit community group, the Tarpon Springs Hospital Foundation, held the hospital's state-issued operating licensed.

Relations between city officials and the foundation had become strained.

The city ultimately chose UCH alone to run the hospital.

In an April 8 telephone interview, Stein said the proposed merge between UCH and Adventist would bring together the medical and marketing resources of two highly regarded health care systems and enable the merged operation to offer heighted health care.

Both health care systems recently signed a nonbinding letter of intent to explore a possible merger. By joining Adventist, UCH would increase its access to physicians and medical specialists, Stein said

UCH already has a strong presence on the Suncoast with its five hospitals that include its large medical facility, Helen Ellis Memorial in Tarpon Springs and University Community Hospital, UCH-Carrollwood and the Pepin Heart Hospital, all in Tampa.

Adventist, based in Winter Park, operates 37 hospitals in Texas, the Midwest and South, including Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, one of 17 in Central Florida.

Don Jernigan, president and CEO of Adventist Health System, said in a prepared statement, "AHS and UCH are committed to enhancing accessibility and quality of medical care to the Tampa Bay area."

In the same statement, Mike Schultz, Adventist Florida region president and CEO, declared it too early in the "due diligence process" to share concrete details on the proposed merger. Both UCH and Adventist are focused on uninterrupted quality care and dedicated to the service of its employees, he said.

UCH's Stein said the merger would give Helen Ellis Memorial more resources when it gains the state's OK to conduct open heart surgeries. HEMH, which attracts many patients from West Pasco as well as elsewhere in North Pinellas, is well on track to meet the state's approval requirements, he said.

Stein noted they were not thinking of this opportunity, last year, when UCH said it was looking for a partner to help finance improvements at Helen Ellis. It just turned out this way.

Helen Ellis Memorial administrators declined to comment for this article, directing questions to UCH officials.

Stein noted for the last three years UCH and Adventist officials have been working to develop an 80-bed community hospital in the Wesley Chapel area of south-central Pasco. Both have been working to closely plan and implement better approaches to patient care and increase community outreach. The proposed merger will take the partnership to a new level, he said.