Methodist News Archive Featured in the Media JeffNEWS

Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals and Mercy Health System's St. Agnes Medical Center signed an agreement today to move forward with plans to expand and enhance healthcare delivery in South Philadelphia. Methodist Hospital, a division of Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, will provide short-term acute care services in the community. St. Agnes Medical Center will be transformed into the St. Agnes Continuing Care Center in response to unmet community needs for programs for the elderly and others who require long-term acute care and continuing care services. Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals and Mercy Health System together project approximately $12.5-15 million in capital investments to improve and expand healthcare services in South Philadelphia.

St. Agnes Medical Center and Methodist Hospital are working together to secure regulatory approvals and finalize all outstanding issues prior to implementing the agreement in mid-June. There will be no changes in the services currently offered at Methodist Hospital or St. Agnes Medical Center until the agreement is implemented.

To ensure a smooth transition for patients and their families, Methodist Hospital will provide short-term acute care services, including emergency and other hospital services, at the St. Agnes campus, in addition to its main hospital, for up to six months beginning in mid-June. During this transition period, substantial renovations will be made at the existing Methodist Hospital campus to accommodate additional patients. Plans are to transfer the short-term acute care services and related staff to Methodist Hospital by the end of December following completion of the renovations.

The St. Agnes Continuing Care Center is committed to clinical excellence in long-term acute care services and to providing compassionate care with a unique spiritual orientation for patients and their families. Services offered at the St. Agnes Continuing Care Center will include a new joint venture with Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals to provide long-term intensive care services that meet a community need to treat critically ill patients who require acute care services for an extended period of time. In addition, the St. Agnes Continuing Care Center also will provide skilled nursing, home health, LIFE (Living Independently for Elders) and Vitas hospice services.

Mercy Health System and Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals have communicated their plans for enhancing healthcare in South Philadelphia to their medical staffs and employees, and will seek to re-deploy displaced employees to available comparable positions within the two organizations wherever possible.

“This new agreement confirms our commitment to meeting the current and future healthcare needs of South Philadelphia and the other communities our hospitals support in this region. We will update the community on our progress in completing the transition to the new vision over the next several months,” said Tom Lewis, CEO of Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals and Gavin Kerr, CEO of Mercy Health System, in a joint statement issued today.

“This innovative new vision and significant investment in restructuring healthcare services to meet the changing needs of South Philadelphia confirm our long-term commitment to the community. We look forward to the continued support of our physicians, nurses, employees and community members to make this new vision a success. Through this agreement and with the addition of the new long-term intensive care capabilities, we are convinced we are creating a sustainable environment that will enable both hospitals to meet the broader healthcare needs of the Philadelphia region,” they said.