What is being announced?
The RMC Board of Directors and leadership team have signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) for RMC to become an affiliate of the University of Alabama Health System (UAB Health System) to ensure the brightest future for our patients, employees, providers and communities.
Why are we doing this now?
Our Board of Directors and leadership team are always exploring ways to ensure RMC can continue to deliver the best healthcare to our communities and meet the evolving health needs of our patients.
In today’s ever-evolving healthcare landscape, operating as a stand-alone organization is increasingly rare and challenging. Meaningful partnerships and a willingness to embrace innovative collaboration are required to succeed in securing the best healthcare outcomes possible for those we serve.
Why UAB Health System?
RMC and UAB Health System have a longstanding relationship and, for more than 10 years, have successfully collaborated in several areas, such as Cancer Care, Radiation Oncology and Pathology services, patient satisfaction, and Antimicrobial Stewardship to reduce the resistance to antibiotics and decrease the spread of infections to improve patient outcomes.
We also know that patients trust UAB Health System. UAB Health System is anchored by UAB Hospital, which is continually ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the Best Hospital in Alabama. Additionally, UAB Health System is already the first place our patients choose for specialized care.
A potential affiliation with UAB Health System supports our vision to continue to improve patient care and provide greater healthcare access in our five-county service area.
How long will this take?
This is a thorough and deliberate process. With this announcement, both organizations will enter a period of mutual due diligence to fully determine the details of a final agreement. Pending further approvals, including from the Health Care Authority of the City of Anniston Board of Directors and the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees along with a standard regulatory review, the organizations plan to finalize an agreement later this summer.
What do we hope to accomplish in this process?
We recognized early on that a potential partner can help us improve local patient care in ways that we cannot easily do on our own. Specifically, RMC’s vision for a potential affiliation with UAB Health System includes a focus on:
- Excellent Clinical Care and the opportunities to collaborate to bring new services and care to the local region.
- Supporting Employees and Providers through a good cultural alignment that supports the vital role RMC plays in the region and will help position RMC as an employer and clinical partner of choice for the entire medical community.
- Supporting Growing Communities: Recently Calhoun County and the surrounding communities have experienced considerable economic growth. As the region continues to develop, local communities must have a healthcare system that can meet the growing healthcare needs of the future.
- Care Close to Home so that patients can see their doctors and receive the highest-quality services they need locally.
How does RMC benefit from the potential agreement?
We are excited about all the ways we will benefit through our potential affiliation with UAB Health System, including:
- Growing service lines to better serve our patients and offer more healthcare options close to home.
- Collaborating with UAB Health System to further enhance patient care and quality practices as well as improve RMC’s financial sustainability
- Partnering to support specialty physician recruitment efforts
What does this mean for employees?
This announcement does not impact our current daily operations. When an agreement is finalized, employees will continue as RMC employees—and we need all of our employees now more than ever.
By growing our services and workforce through an affiliation, we can better support you and the critical role you play in our patients’ lives and continue your great work to serve our patients.
How does this impact PTO, benefits, hiring process, positions, etc.?
We recognize the value of our people and our ability to provide excellent patient care is only possible through the dedicated service of our employees, physicians and APPs who show up every day with a passion for serving our communities. Since we are early in the process, nothing changes today regarding our employees’ PTO, benefits, titles, positions, etc. As we explore our potential partnership, we are committed to maintaining positions for our team members.
Will RMC employees become state employees?
No, RMC employees will not become state employees as a result of our affiliation with UAB Health System. They will remain employees of RMC.
What does this mean for patients and the community?
We are excited about the ways our patients and communities may also benefit from a potential affiliation with UAB Health System. For example, we can increase our ability to bring new services and specialty care to the region, which means patients can receive even more of their medical care close to home.
As we move through the process, we remain focused on providing patients with the same quality healthcare services they have come to know and expect from us. Our patients will continue to have access to their providers without any disruption to care. All current insurance will be accepted.
What insurance providers will RMC accept when it becomes a UAB Health System affiliate?
RMC has independent contracts with most major insurance companies. At this time, our patients will continue to have access to their providers without any disruption to care and all current insurances will be accepted.
Will RMC retain its not-for-profit status?
Yes. Our affiliation with UAB Health System will not affect our not-for-profit status nor will it impact the Regional Medical Center Foundation. Serving the healthcare needs of our communities continues to be our highest priority, and the Foundation and its fundraising efforts are critical to our mission. We will continue to accept donations to the Foundation to support our community.
Will RMC rebrand?
At this time, there is no plan to change the name of RMC facilities. When our affiliation is finalized, we will work with UAB Health System to determine if and how we may rebrand to highlight that we are an “Affiliate of UAB Health System.”
What happens next?
Nothing changes today, as we are still finalizing the terms of our agreement. Importantly, patients can continue to see their doctors and access the services and clinics they always have. Signing the LOI is an important step in the process for RMC to become an affiliate of the UAB Health System.
With this announcement, both organizations will enter a period of mutual due diligence to fully determine the details of a final agreement. Pending further approvals, including from the Health Care Authority of the City of Anniston Board of Directors and the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees along with a standard regulatory review, the organizations plan to finalize an agreement later this summer.
How can I learn more/stay updated?
We are committed to answering questions as best we can as we have more information to share. To learn more about our potential affiliation with UAB Health System, updates and next steps, please continue to check this website.
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