AKRON, Ohio – Summa Health System and Western Reserve Hospital Partners cleared the final regulatory hurdle that will let Western Reserve, a for-profit organization, to operate at the non-profit Summa Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital.
Western Reserve will take over operations on June 24.
Summa announced in January the plan to give Western Reserve control of the hospital, which will be known as Summa Western Reserve Hospital. The two organizations will then start working on a new 100-bed facility built in the area by 2011.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
The organizations received approval from the state Attorney General’s office so a for-profit operation could operate at the facility.
The Akron Beacon Journal said the Western Reserve-Summa deal is the latest example of Summa’s strategy to jointly own and operate facilities with local physicians. It noted last month’s partnership to operate orthopedic programs with Crystal Clinic.
