Article from TMC News.
Baylor College of Medicine and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital have entered into a new affiliation agreement naming St. Luke's as the primary, private adult teaching hospital for Baylor medical students. The agreement, which went into effect April 24, ends The Methodist Hospital's 50-year designation as Baylor's main teaching hospital.
Prior to the new agreement, Baylor doctors, accompanied by Baylor students in training, saw about 14,000 inpatients each year at Methodist. On a much smaller scale and through an affiliation established in 1961, Baylor full-tim faculty saw about 1,000 inpatients each year at St. Luke's. Now, those numbers are expected to change.
Though the bulk of Baylor training will now take place at St. Luke's, Baylor and Methodist will continue their collaboration on a number of joint clinical and research programs.
"Baylor is not splitting with Methodist. Baylor is changing its primary private adult affiliate. Methodist will continue to be an important partner with Baylor in many clinical programs and in resident and student training," Baylor President and CEO Peter Traber, M.D., explains.
More than two dozen joint programs shared by Baylor and Methodist will remain at Methodist, including breast cancer study and treatment, cardiovascular disease, multiple organ transplant, psychiatry, diseases of inflammation, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and others.
Details regarding specific programs that will move to St. Luke's have not been finalized, and it's likely that some programs will have a presence at both institutions, says Jack Lynch, interim CEO of the St. Luke's Episcopal Health System.
"Methodist has played a major role in teaching, research and patient care with Baylor, and we would expect them to continue to be a very important affiliate," Lynch says.
A key provision of the new agreement calls for Baylor to build and fund a new, one-stop adult outpatient clinic in the Texas Medical Center, where patients will access a multitude of medical services provided by Baylor doctors, all under one roof, and receive a single bill for all services provided. Traber first announced the college's intent to build its own ambulatory care clinic last summer. The exact cost and completion date for the clinic have yet to be determined.
During negotiations, Methodist had offered to build an outpatient clinic and rent space to Baylor, but the college wanted more control, and rejected the offer.
Currently, many Baylor doctors see patients at Scurlock and Smith Towers, owned by Methodist. Baylor physicians are expected to vacate Scurlock and Smith upon completion of the new Baylor clinic.
"St. Luke's is committed to working with the Baylor faculty and all our medical staff advancing the quality and convenience of care for our patients," Lynch says. "We all must remember that we are here to provide high-quality and convenient patient care while at the same time advancing the practice and science of medicine through teaching and research."
Convenience is key, says Stephen Spann, M.D., chair of Baylor's Family and Community Medicine Department. And Spann ought to know. His department is housed in a self-contained building on Kirby Drive, where patients obtain lab tests, X-rays, and other required services all in one place. Medical charts are computerized, affording doctors "at-your-fingertips" access with a simple keystroke, and patients can see their X-rays and other images on screen in the exam room, with the doctor present to explain the results.
"This is good, but the new Baylor outpatient clinic will be even better, especially for patients with multiple and complex problems. They can visit their primary care physician, then go straight to the orthopedic doctor, the rheumatologist, then on to an ultrasound - whatever their needs may be. No unnecessary repeat visits, everything done in sequence," Spann explains.
Methodist CEO Ron Girotto said, "We are very disappointed that Baylor College of Medicine has rejected our proposal for a renewed affiliation agreement that includes a new office building, expanded programs and a significant financial commitment up to $75 million for the first year."
Methodist is moving forward with the conceptual and design phase of a new Methodist Outpatient Center to be built adjacent to Scurlock and SMith Towers. Girotto said the 300,000 square-foot facility will "enhance the patient experience by providing unparalleled continuity, from obtaining an appointment, through diagnosis, treatment and follow-up."
Methodist is also proceeding with plans to build The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, which Girotto sas, with an initial funding of $100 million "is already energizing research activities at Methodist and receiving the attention of prominent individuals nationally.
In a letter to Methodist physicians dated April 21, Girotto said he will soon be meeting with each of Methodist's clinical department chiefs to determine how to continue developing their clinical specialties in light of this change.
"Most of the chiefs and Baylor physicians have already expressed their desire to continue practicing at Methodist," he says.
The next step for Methodist, Girotto says, is to consider affiliation with another medical school.
House hunting is an odd combination of fun and stress.
