NASHVILLE—Vanderbilt University Medical Center is further expanding its reach across the state with a new affiliation agreement with West Tennessee Healthcare, Jackson. The deal represents 909-bed Vanderbilt's fifth affiliation in the region since October 2011. The academic medical center also has a cancer-care affiliation in place with Baptist Memorial Health Care, Memphis, that it forged three months ago. Terms were not disclosed for the agreement, which allows the systems to collaborate on programs and services as well as new measures to improve quality and reduce the cost of care, according to a news release. The agreement will also enable the systems to develop joint Centers of Excellence as well as educational and research programs and new clinical information technology tools. West Tennessee Healthcare, a public system with six hospitals—including 619-bed Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, one of the largest in the state—serves 18 rural counties in the western part of Tennessee.
—Beth Kutscher