Hospitals finalize affiliation agreement

The governing boards of the Flathead Valley’s two primary health-care providers have finalized an agreement to create a formal affiliation between the two organizations.

North Valley Hospital will officially become an affiliate under the umbrella of Kalispell Regional Healthcare System, which already includes two hospitals, the Kalispell Regional Medical Center and The HealthCenter. The move approved on March 28 will integrate the organizations both clinically and financially.

Jason Spring, CEO of North Valley Hospital, said in a prepared statement that the organizations have been working collaboratively for years on activities like recruiting and sharing physicians, sharing medical services, facilitating the electronic use of health-related information and creating joint community health needs assessments.

“We are excited to formalize our relationship so we can more effectively work together and expand our efforts to provide accessible and affordable healthcare for our community,” Spring said.

The change is set to go into effect on May 1. The two governing boards in October last year each voted in favor of a non-binding letter of intent to explore affiliation opportunities. Since then hospital leadership has been working on how best to structure that affiliation.

Spring last fall said the new relationship isn’t a merger, but described it as a move by North Valley Hospital from being “independent to interdependent.”

As a part of the agreement, North Valley will remain a nonprofit, maintain its Planetree philosophy of care, and keep its status as a critical access facility.

There are no plans to eliminate jobs nor any planned layoffs at either facility based on the agreement. North Valley will continue to employ its own staff, but under the umbrella of Kalispell Regional Healthcare, and some consolidation of employee benefits will occur, according to hospital administration. Currently, there are fewer than 50 employees who are employed by both North Valley Hospital and Kalispell Regional Healthcare.

The hospitals will maintain their respective governing boards, but will create shared governance by having board members of each organization serve on the other’s board.

Opportunities will be explored, hospital administrators say, at satellite clinics at both hospitals to expand services and create efficiencies to benefit patients.

Velinda Stevens, Kalispell Regional Healthcare president and chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement that many patients visit both North Valley and Kalispell Regional Healthcare facilities.

“By aligning our organizations, this affiliation will allow us to focus on coordinated care within our community, allowing more patients to access services they need locally versus foregoing care or traveling out of the area,” Stevens said.

Workgroups are currently focusing on the transition primarily in the administrative business functions, such as employees benefits and communication.  

Some key components of the agreement include:

• Continuing the current scope of services provided by North Valley Hospital, including the Emergency Department; Obstetrics (Delivery); Inpatient and Outpatient Medical/Surgical procedures;

• Continuing to operate North Valley Hospital as a separate critical access, general acute-care hospital;

• Maintaining the name, mission, charitable purposes, and tax exempt status of North Valley Hospital;

• Creating shared governance by having board members of each organization serving on the other organization’s board;

• Maintaining the North Valley Hospital Foundation and Kalispell Regional Healthcare Foundation reporting structures to each respective governing board, along with their respective focus on philanthropic efforts;

• Enhancing the recruitment and sharing of physicians and other clinical staff; and

• On an annual basis for at least five years, completing an annual report on the progress and community benefits of the affiliation and publishing that report to the communities within the Flathead Valley.

To learn more about the organizations, visit kalispellregional.org or nvhosp.org.