Two Chicago-area systems, University of Chicago Medicine and Franciscan Alliance, are working on an affiliation that would allow them to develop joint clinical, research and educational programs.
The deal is a non-equity agreement that builds on an ongoing relationship the two systems have had as many of Franciscan Alliance's suburban patients have traveled to the University of Chicago for tertiary and quaternary care.
While the systems will retain their independence, Gene Diamond, region CEO for Franciscan Alliance's Northern Indiana region, said they would accomplish synergies by collaborating on joint clinical service lines, such as oncology services.
A University of Chicago spokesman said the parties are still working through the specifics of the arrangement. “This sort of formalizes the framework for further cooperation,” he said.
Franciscan Alliance, based in Mishawaka, Ind., has 11 hospitals in Indiana. The agreement is specific to the five facilities in the northwest corner of the state. The system is in the process of selling a two-campus hospital in the southern Chicago suburbs.
“We think we bring some advantages to an academic medical center and they to us,” Diamond said.
The Catholic system also participates in the CMS' Pioneer ACO program. For the moment, at least, that initiative will remain outside the affiliation.
The accountable care organization, Diamond noted, specifically covers Medicare enrollees living in Lake County, Indiana.
The jointly developed programs will be subject to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Healthcare Services, a doctrine that covers aspects of healthcare delivery including reproductive care and end-of-life decisions, Diamond said.
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