Marin General Hospital and UCSF Health have formed a partnership that looks to expand their clinical operations, the organizations announced Wednesday.
The not-for-profit health systems plan to bolster their care sites with additional Marin and UCSF providers and specialists throughout Marin County. UCSF will also be able to nominate two directors to the Marin board.
"This strategic alliance with UCSF will allow us not only to remain independent, but also to be able to provide the North Bay community with rich access to a wide range of high-quality, specialized medical services right here in Marin County," Marin CEO Lee Domanico said in a statement. "With UCSF and our community partners, we will engage in multi-year planning to further enrich those services with new programs and technologies."
Marin General has been a staunch advocate for forging strategic alliances and remaining independent as other providers grow through mergers and acquisitions. Marin is an essential hospital for most of the insurance carriers in the market, given its location, and does not need more leverage, which drives much consolidation.
The announcement builds on Marin and UCSF's prior collaborations including UCSF physicians assisting Marin's NICU operations, UCSF's neurosurgery department providing trauma, inpatient and outpatient services at Marin, UCSF pediatric surgeons treating diabetic children at Marin, and UCSF's cardiac surgery department offering Marin call coverage and elective services.
They are also both part of Canopy Health, a growing accountable care network featuring nearly 5,000 primary care physicians, specialists and other healthcare providers.