The Atlantic General Hospital’s Board of Trustees announced they are launching a strategic partnership exploration process considering all options to enhance healthcare in our region. This process ensures Atlantic General Hospital continues moving forward thoughtfully to secure a future as a thriving, growing and competitive health system. The process will explore whether partnering with a like-minded healthcare organization or remaining independent is the right way to achieve that goal.
Enhancing healthcare
in our region.
What’s Happening
Why Now
Across the country, independent community hospitals like ours face difficult challenges including labor shortages, stagnant reimbursement and difficulty in physician recruitment – all while the cost of providing high-quality healthcare continues to increase. As the smallest hospital in Maryland operating under a fixed revenue system, AGH faces even greater challenges in creating the ambulatory and outpatient services now required as more care is directed to an outpatient setting.
We know that we must evolve to meet the ever-growing and changing expectations and needs of the patients we serve.
In this environment, the Atlantic General Hospital Board of Trustees takes seriously our shared responsibility to evaluate and plan for the future. It is our duty to move forward thoughtfully to preserve AGH’s proud legacy and ensure an even more vibrant future providing our community access to high quality care, close to home.
It’s important to remember this is the first step in a deliberate process that will take considerable time. Nothing has yet been decided, and nothing is changing today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this announcement mean?
The Hospital Board has engaged the services of Chartis, a leading healthcare advisory firm to support us in making smart decisions about how to best position AGH for long-term success as a thriving, growing and competitive healthcare system. The Board will fully explore all of the options we have to best meet the needs of our community and allow us to fulfill our important mission. Over the coming months, the Board will cast a wide net and evaluate all options and determine a path forward that allows us to build upon the strengths and unique characteristics that define Atlantic General Hospital.
Why are we doing this now? What led to this decision?
As you are likely aware, across the country, independent community hospitals like ours face difficult challenges including labor shortages, stagnant reimbursement and difficulty in physician recruitment, all while the cost of providing high-quality healthcare continues to increase. Further, as the smallest hospital in Maryland operating under a fixed revenue system, AGH faces even greater challenges in creating the ambulatory and outpatient services now required as more care is directed to an outpatient setting.
We know that we must evolve to meet the ever-growing and changing expectations and needs of the patients we serve. In this environment, the Atlantic General Hospital Board of Trustees take seriously our shared responsibility to evaluate and plan for the future. It is our duty to move forward thoughtfully to preserve AGH’s proud legacy, while ensuring an even more vibrant future providing our community access to high-quality care, close to home.
As we consider these challenges, coupled with the healthcare needs of our growing community, the Board believes the timing is appropriate to evaluate a partnership strategy. Physician recruitment, information technology and access to capital are all part of the considerations the Board has evaluated as critical to our ongoing success.
What are we hoping to achieve in this process? What are the goals?
We hope to have an open and collaborative discussion with other healthcare organizations about the challenges confronting all healthcare providers and more specifically those of AGH, and how we can address them by working together more closely. Our goal through the process is to identify like-minded organizations who share our commitment to providing for the healthcare needs of our community and who are well positioned to support those efforts. We want AGH to thrive and to continue to grow to meet the area’s growing needs for healthcare services and will evaluate if these are best met through a partnership or remaining independent.
During the strategic partnership exploration process, the Board will cast a wide net, evaluate all options and determine the best option that allows us to build upon the strengths and unique characteristics that define Atlantic General Hospital.
What are we looking for in a potential partner?
While we don’t have all the details yet on what benefits we may see from a potential partner, we are certain of what we must preserve – our unique culture and personalized approach to patient care. Our goal is to ensure we continue providing high-quality healthcare to our community for decades to come. Aligned with our mission, we want a partner that shares our commitment to keeping high-quality care local. We are looking for an organization that demonstrates this commitment and has the resources needed to make it happen. We also are looking for a partner that recognizes the unique culture in place at AGH and will help us preserve that.
How are decisions being made? Who is making the decisions?
This effort is being led by a steering committee of the Atlantic General Hospital Board of Trustees. Any decision would be made by the Hospital Board and approved by both the Hospital Board of Trustees and the Corporation Membership.
It’s important to remember this is the first step in a deliberate process that will take considerable time. Nothing has yet been decided, and nothing is changing today.
How long will this take?
This is the first step in a deliberate process that will take considerable time. Over the coming months, the Board will cast a wide net, evaluate all options and determine a path forward that allows us to build upon the strengths and unique characteristics that define Atlantic General Hospital.