North Shore-LIJ affiliation with Fla. hospital to allow continuity of care for traveling patients

The North Shore-LIJ Health System, Great Neck, N.Y., is following its patients to their winter and vacation spots through an affiliation with Boca Raton (Fla.) Regional Hospital.

It's not the first time the 12-hospital system, one of the largest in the country, has ventured out-of-state, but the deal marks the first time it has forged an affiliation that involves coordinating patient care across states, a spokesman said. The system estimates that there are roughly 10,000 people who have residences in both locations.

North Shore-LIJ also has affiliations in place with the Cleveland Clinic and Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center.

Boca Raton Regional will retain its independence and there are “no financial structures” to the agreement, the spokesman said. Instead, the organizations will jointly form clinical and research programs under an initial three-year term.

Like many independent hospitals, Boca Raton's board had recently conducted a review of its operations, but decided to pursue partnerships rather than putting itself up for sale.

The two parties also will have opportunities to collaborate in other ways, a news release said. Boca Raton Regional, for instance, will be able to learn from the larger system's experiences in transitioning to population health management and risk- and performance-based payment contracts.

For North Shore-LIJ, the affiliation allows it to retain a connection to many of its current patients who spend their winters in Palm Beach and Broward County.

“Establishing this new relationship will lead to better continuity of care for patients who rely on both providers for their care,” Dr. Michael Dowling, North Shore-LIJ's president and CEO, said in the release.

Follow Beth Kutscher on Twitter: @MHbkutscher