Holy Spirit Health System of Camp Hill, Pa., has become an affiliate of Geisinger Health System of Danville, Pa., in a deal that closed early last month. No money changed hands with the affiliation; nor did the organizations merge assets.
The nonprofit Catholic system, with its flagship 311-bed Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill, now is called "Holy Spirit — A Geisinger Affiliate." Under the affiliation, Geisinger's not-for-profit parent company, the Geisinger Health System Foundation, replaced the Sisters of Christian Charity Health Care Corp. as the sole corporate member of Holy Spirit Health System, according to information from Lori Moran, director of public relations and marketing for Holy Spirit, and from Amy Beamer Murray, chief operating officer for Pavone, a consultant for Holy Spirit.
In addition to the Camp Hill hospital, Holy Spirit includes outpatient facilities throughout south-central Pennsylvania. Holy Spirit has 2,600 employees and 500-plus physicians on its medical staff, most of whom are independent physicians. Geisinger has eight hospital campuses and two research centers in Pennsylvania. It has 21,000 employees, including a 1,100-member multispecialty group practice. Geisinger Health System has a 467,000-member health plan.
Beamer Murray said in its new corporate member role, the secular nonprofit Geisinger Health System Foundation gains some governance and operational oversight with regards to Holy Spirit, but Holy Spirit will retain its board of directors independently; and Holy Spirit will retain its assets. Representatives of Geisinger and Holy Spirit will sit on the boards of both Holy Spirit and the Geisinger Health System Foundation: Dr. Glenn Steele, The Geisinger Health System's president and chief executive, is on the Geisinger Health System Foundation Board and is now a director on the Holy Spirit Health System Board along with Frank Trembulak, Geisinger Health System's executive vice president and chief operating officer. Bob Dietz, the immediate past chairman of the Holy Spirit Hospital Board is now a Geisinger Health System Foundation director, and Bruce Brown, the chairman of the Holy Spirit Health System Board, is a director on the various Geisinger Health Plan affiliates.
The Sisters of Christian Charity's North American Eastern Province will continue to sponsor Holy Spirit and will retain certain reserve powers, including oversight of the congregation's healing mission, maintaining the Catholic identity of Holy Spirit, ensuring compliance with the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services and retaining the ultimate authority over Catholic-related issues, according to Moran. The congregation also has the authority to nominate the Holy Spirit Health System Board chair, to concur with the appointment of Holy Spirit Health System's chief administrative officer and nominate two congregation members and six laymen to the Holy Spirit Health System's board.
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