Cleveland Clinic to bring Dover hospital into system

Cleveland Clinic plans to bring Dover-based Union Hospital into the system, in a move that stretches its Northeast Ohio geographical footprint farther south.

The two have signed a letter of intent, and Clinic representatives and the Union Hospital Board of Trustees will work to finalize a definitive agreement and seek regulatory approvals in order to have the hospital become part of the Clinic by the start of 2018, according to a news release.

Until such a definitive agreement is signed, no further details can be released, according to the Clinic. Bruce James, president and CEO of Union Hospital, said in the release that Union officials are pleased with the proposed terms and expect to have details finalized in about 90 days.

The Clinic already operates 10 regional hospitals in Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina and Summit counties. In 2015, the Clinic officially brought Akron General into the system and has since worked to solidify its anchor in Summit County. Union Hospital would bring the Clinic's hospital services farther south to Tuscarawas County.

"We are honored to have been selected as Union Hospital's partner, and look forward to collaborating with the Union Hospital family to expand access to high-quality, affordable health care for the local communities of Dover, New Philadelphia and Tuscarawas, Carroll, and surrounding counties," said Ann Huston, Cleveland Clinic's chief strategy officer, in a prepared statement.

"Our goal is to apply the collective resources of Cleveland Clinic and Union Hospital to sustain Union as a clinically vibrant and financially strong community-based health care system," Huston said.

Union Hospital has had a service partnership agreement with Cleveland Clinic for several years through Telestroke Network — the Clinic's tele-medicine connection for treating stroke patients at the Union Hospital Lauren Emergency Center and Cleveland Clinic's Cerebrovascular Center, according to the release.

The Union Hospital board said that the Clinic's guidance and management will give the hospital the opportunity to add physicians, grow services and become fiscally stronger, according to the release. Union has faced financial challenges in recent years. Last year, it eliminated 20 jobs in a $3 million cost-cutting effort that, if it continued, would eventually lead to cuts in services and more jobs.

"We are very pleased and excited to have our strong, community hospital become a part of the Cleveland Clinic family," said Robert Horn, chairman of the Union Hospital board of trustees, in a statement. "Our highest priority as a hospital has been and will continue to be to provide high-quality health care for our patients right here at Union Hospital. The new ownership will set the stage for new services in our area."

"Cleveland Clinic to bring Dover hospital into system" originally appeared in Crain's Cleveland Business.