Watertown Regional Medical Center’s board of directors has selected LifePoint Hospitals to form a joint venture partnership that aims to “allow WRMC to thrive in the midst of the biggest wave of change in healthcare in half a century.” LifePoint was one of 23 hospital systems considered, including all regional systems in Wisconsin.
“We saw first-hand how LifePoint puts its vision in action, to make each of its hospitals a place where people choose to come for care, employees want to work and physicians want to practice,” said John Kosanovich, president and chief executive officer of WRMC. “LifePoint has a strong track record for successfully investing in and growing community hospitals like WRMC and improving the quality of care, through investments in state-of-the-art technology, facility improvements, physician recruitment and staff development.”
Jeff Baum, chairman of the WRMC board of directors, said the partnership with LifePoint will “only help accelerate our ability to fulfill our vision to build the community health system of the future, focused on keeping people well and designing an ideal patient experience.”
As a result of the partnership, LifePoint has indicated it is willing to, among other things, invest more than $100 million in WRMC; help enhance and expand services locally; and retain all jobs and invest in WRMC’s employees. WRMC and LifePoint both intend to maintain WRMC’s clinical affiliation with UW Health.
“We’re eager to work together to build on the great work done by the board and leadership team to position WRMC for the future,” said William Carpenter III, chairman and chief executive officer of LifePoint Hospitals. “We look forward to working together to enhance WRMC’s forward-thinking wellness initiatives, expand its impressive array of services, and enable WRMC to thrive and continue providing quality healthcare services to the greater Watertown community.”
The joint venture partnership is expected to be finalized in early 2015.
WRMC has served residents of south central Wisconsin for more than 100 years. It specializes in women’s health, orthopedics and sports medicine, heart and vascular, and pediatrics.
LifePoint Hospitals, headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., operates more than 60 hospital campuses in 21 states.
