UNION COUNTY, Pa. — A hospital in central Pennsylvania is becoming part of a health care system caring for patients in the southern parts of the state.
WellSpan Health and Evangelical Community Hospital announced the agreement on Monday.
Evangelical Community Hospital will become WellSpan Evangelical Community Hospital.
Their accompanying network of care serving the Central Susquehanna Valley will also join WellSpan, expanding the combined reach of the organizations across 12 counties in Central Pennsylvania and Northern Maryland.
"This decision, while hard, is the right decision. Joining WellSpan represents the best path forward to continue meeting the health and wellness needs of the community well into the future," said Kendra Aucker, Evangelical Community Hospital president and CEO.
Aucker says Evangelical Community Hospital lost around $29 million last year. She also cites rising costs, shrinking reimbursement from both Medicare and Medicaid and increased labor costs. Aucker says Evangelical is being proactive with this decision.
"Still a strong entity and we are in a strong region, and people like the patient experience here. They like the care that they get here, and that's going to continue."
WellSpan Health says it will invest more than $100 million in Evangelical Community Hospital over the next three years for new technologies, new equipment, and renovations.
"Together, we can create exceptional, high-quality, affordable care to more than 1.3 million patients across twelve counties," said Roxanna Gapstur, WellSpan Health president and CEO.
"Right now, nothing changes as we have at least a four-month regulatory review process to navigate. However, things will change over time. This type of decision is made because things do need to change," Aucker added.
Aucker says services for patients will continue uninterrupted during the transition.
WellSpan serves residents in Adams, Cumberland, Lancaster, Lebanon, Franklin, and York counties in Pennsylvania and Frederick and Washington counties in Maryland.
WellSpan has 220 locations and eight hospitals, including a behavioral health network and a Level 1 Trauma Center.
In 1990, York and Gettysburg Hospitals first came together to form WellSpan Health. Since that time, six other hospitals have become part of the system.
If the deal goes through as expected, WellSpan Health will take over ownership of Evangelical Community Hospital around July 1.