Emory Healthcare (EHC) and WellStar Health System have concluded a 45-day initial discussion and decided to enter the “design phase” of a health care system merger, both organizations announced Thursday evening.
The University first announced a merger between Emory and the largest not-for-profit health system in Georgia on Feb. 9.
Each institutions' Board of Trustees approved a resolution to begin more detailed planning last Thursday (April 9).
In an interview with the Wheel at the time of the first announcement, WellStar CEO Reynold Jennings wrote that the merger would allow hospitals to be “better prepared to deal with the challenges in health care, while still being able to provide world-class care to our communities.”
University President James W. Wagner said in a statement to The Marietta Daily Journal that Emory School of Medicine will not be a part of the new system.
The 45-day discussion period served to determine whether a merger was feasible and establish the details of a proposed merger. Now that the respective boards of the two organizations have agreed upon a resolution, the design phase will include naming the new system, finding a corporate office, merging employees and governance structure and successfully combining a community-based health care company with a medical research network, according to an April 3 article in the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Jennings told the Wheel in February that the new system's Board of Trustees will consist of 50 percent Emory and 50 percent WellStar employees and will also select the CEO.
Officials from both Emory and WellStar have said that they welcome questions or comments about the merger at communications@emoryhealthcare.org or communityfeedback@wellstar.org.
The Wheel will publish a full article on the details of the merger.
— By Rupsha Basu
