Two Texas healthcare giants have signed a letter of intent to form a new health system.
Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health and Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System plan to merge into a combined system that is yet to be named. However, both organizations will continue to operate under their own brands in their respective service areas.
Baylor Scott & White CEO Jim Hinton will be the CEO of the new system. Baylor president Pete McCanna and Memorial Hermann president and CEO Chuck Stokes will join Hinton in the CEO’s office, according to a news release.
The organization will have staff members based in Dallas, Houston, Austin and Temple, Texas.
The next stage of this deal hinges on the signing of a definitive agreement, which the organizations plan to complete in 2019.
“Together, we believe we will be able to accelerate our commitments to make care more consumer-centric; grow our capabilities to manage the health of populations; and bend the unsustainable healthcare cost curve in the state,” Stokes said in a statement.
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.
Combined, Baylor and Memorial Hermann include 68 hospital campuses and almost 14,000 employed, academic and independent physicians.
“This proposed combination starts the next chapter in the legacies of service and innovation for both systems,” Ross McKnight, chair of the Baylor Scott & White holdings board of trustees, said in a statement. “It will not only make a positive difference in the lives of millions here, it will become a national model.”
Through the merger, the organizations hope to improve the health of Texans and expand their relationships with the academic medical community to advance research programs and training.
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