I’m sure that many of you saw this week’s news of our intent to sell Wing Memorial Hospital and Medical Centers to Baystate Health. This was obviously a difficult decision for us to make. Wing has been a valued member of UMass Memorial Health Care since 1999.  Here is the announcement we sent out to the press.

The future of health care is about creating tight-knit integrated systems that coordinate the overall health of a population of patients. By joining Baystate Health, Wing Memorial Hospital will become a part of a high quality, integrated system of care centered around Springfield.

Our long term strategy is to develop our own high quality, closely integrated system of care centered around Worcester and since Palmer is 20 miles closer to Springfield, it just makes more sense for Wing to be integrated into the Baystate Health system than to remain part of UMass Memorial.

In the end, the patients in and around Palmer will get outstanding care closer to home, which is our goal and the goal of Baystate Health. Patients in that region who continue to receive care with us because it is not available at Baystate or because they love our service, will still be welcomed with open arms and big smiles.

Please know that there are no plans to transfer ownership of other member hospitals. The remaining community hospitals of UMass Memorial Health Care, including Clinton Hospital, HealthAlliance Hospital and Marlborough Hospital, are a critical part of the integrated system of care we are building and unaffected by this potential transaction.

The potential transaction now enters a period of review and due diligence within the organizations and in partnership with the relevant regulatory and oversight bodies that will be completed over the next several months.

Thanks for everything you do to take great care of our patients and one another,

Eric