In an effort to improve healthcare quality and efficiency, Baptist Health, Flagler Hospital and Southeast Georgia Health System said Tuesday that they are forming an alliance called Coastal Community Health.
The group will allow the three health systems to collaborate on best practices and ideas to improve community care at their separate facilities, according to a news release. The health systems will operate independently.
Hugh Greene, CEO of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Baptist Health, will serve as CEO of Coastal Community Health.
The alliance will be guided by a 12-member board composed of six leaders from Baptist Health, three from Flagler Hospital and three from Southeast Georgia.
Leadership is identifying the alliance's goals for the next five years.
Coast Community Health will focus on enhancing child healthcare, expanding telehealth availability and closing gaps in patient care, according to a news release.
Baptist Health, which operates five hospitals in northeast Florida with revenues of $1.5 billion, is the largest health system in the alliance. Southeast Georgia Hospital System operates two hospitals in Georgia. Flagler Hospital is a 318-bed facility in St. Augustine, Fla.
“Together, we believe we can expand access to health care services in our regions and further our mission to improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve. That community focus is our common core," said Greene in a press release announcing the alliance.
Michael Scherneck, CEO of Southeast Georgia Health System, said collaborating with Baptist Healthand Flagler Hospital will encourage efficiency. “We decided collaboration would help us accomplish more in less time,” Scherneck said in the news release.
Joseph Gordy, CEO of Flagler Hospital, added in the statement that the alliance will enhance his hospital's programs and the surrounding area.
In 2013, Flagler partnered with 188 community physicians to form the First Coast Health Alliance, an accountable care organization serving patients in St. Johns County, Fla.
