UMass Memorial, Harrington formalize merger agreement

Photo | TMS Aerial Solutions Harrington Hospital in Southbridge

Write a Comment

By Grant Welker

UMass Memorial Health Care and Harrington Healthcare have finalized their merger agreement, the entities announced Wednesday, sending the proposal to state officials for regulatory approval.

The two hospital systems, based in Worcester and Southbridge, respectively, signed a letter of intent in January for Harrington to join the UMass Memorial system. Harrington remained one of a small and dwindling number of independent hospitals in Massachusetts but formed a committee in 2018 to look into long-term options to remain financially secure. That process eventually led it to UMass Memorial.

The agreement will now head to the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission and Attorney General's Office for a review process, said Doug Brown, UMass Memorial chief administrative officer and president of UMass Memorial Community Hospitals. A federal antitrust review is not expected, he said, and the deal should close early next year.

The coronavirus pandemic delayed the finalization of the hospital systems' agreement by about four months.

Already, the two sides have worked together through the pandemic, which hit Central Massachusetts less than two months after the letter of intent was announced last winter. Ed Moore, Harrington's president and CEO, said UMass Memorial provided support through its clinical team throughout the pandemic, and that the two systems coordinated on obtaining personal protective equipment and on taking a regional approach to coronavirus care.

“It showed that we were compatible. Our value systems aligned for the community's benefit," Moore said in an interview.

Brown agreed. "You see an organization's true colors through a crisis," he said. "We couldn't be more proud of how our caregivers stepped up and took care of this community."

The two systems also collaborate through a system allowing Harrington care providers to consult remotely with UMass Memorial specialists in caring for critically ill patients. They've had very little overlap geographically, however, with Harrington drawing from southern Worcester County and UMass Memorial in the Worcester area and to the city's northern and eastern suburbs.

UMass Memorial said Wednesday it would operate Harrington's hospital campuses in Southbridge and Webster as acute-care hospitals for at least five years. The two hospital networks originally agreed to a 10-year commitment, but that period was shortened with the pandemic, Brown said, which brought a quick and what's expected to be irreversible move toward tele-health. Such online medical appointments would require fewer in-person visits to medical offices.

"We're not saying anything's going to change in five years," Brown said, describing the flexibility the agreement gives UMass Memorial to adjust care after that point.

Harrington will also be brought into UMass Memorial's electronic patient record system, a process that will take a few years but will help better coordinate care. Harrington will retain their separate local community boards, and Harrington will have representation on both the UMass Memorial board and a board for its community hospital holding company.

UMass Memorial has also committed $4 million from an investment portfolio into loans in Harrington's Southbridge and Webster communities. Funds will go toward helping to ease social challenges that can lead to health problems. UMass Memorial provided a $500,000 investment loan in August to Creative Hub Worcester, which is planning an events and arts facility on Ionic Avenue between downtown and Main South.

UMass Memorial will also make capital upgrades of an undetermined amount at Harrington, Brown said.

The pandemic has challenged many hospitals' finances, largely through the need for protective equipment and safety protocols for virus patients, as well as the postponement of many elective procedures and appointments that are major revenue generators. It also showed how much remaining independent wasn't viable long-term for Harrington, Moore said.

Harrington is in line to join UMass Memorial's Medical Center in Worcester, Marlborough Hospital and Clinton Hospital. Moore, who has been Harrington's CEO for 13 years, said he and his executive team plan to stay on through at least the first year of the transition process into the UMass Memorial system.