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Atlantic General Hospital and TidalHealth are announcing the signing of a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) for AGH to join TidalHealth. The signing of the LOI is a first step for our organizations to more fully define the framework of our partnership.

The board believes strongly that the partnership with TidalHealth will enable AGH to advance its mission within our local community and beyond for generations to come.

Independent community hospitals like ours have faced difficult challenges coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic. Financial pressures have increased due to higher labor costs, drug and supply costs rising, while reimbursement has continued to lag behind.

Coupled with the difficulty we have in physician recruitment, limitations with information technology, the need to invest in our core operations and expand ambulatory services, the board believes the timing is appropriate to align with a like-minded organization who shares our commitment to keeping high-quality care close to home.

Why TidalHealth

TidalHealth has a longstanding tradition of providing the highest level of specialized care while ensuring patients continue to be cared for by their local physicians. Throughout our discussions, it was clear that we are better together and that our affiliation provides a tremendous opportunity for both organizations and more importantly, our community. A partnership with TidalHealth will:

Provide access to an integrated electronic medical record through Epic

Improve the coordination of services and access to care for patients

Provide capital funding to expand services

Strengthen the hospital’s ability to retain and attract a high-quality workforce

What is being announced?

Atlantic General Hospital and TidalHealth are announcing the signing of a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) for AGH to join TidalHealth. The signing of the LOI is a first step for our organizations to define the framework of our partnership more fully. The board believes strongly that the partnership with TidalHealth will enable AGH to advance its mission within our local community and beyond for generations to come.

Why are we doing this now? What led to this decision?

Independent community hospitals like ours have faced difficult challenges coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic. Financial pressures have increased due to higher labor costs, drug and supply costs rising, while reimbursement has continued to lag behind. Coupled with the difficulty we have in physician recruitment, limitations with information technology, the need to invest in our core operations and expand ambulatory services, the board believes the timing is appropriate to align with a like-minded organization who shares our commitment to keeping high-quality care close to home.

Why TidalHealth?

We chose TidalHealth as our partner because of our similar missions and a shared commitment to locally controlled healthcare on the lower eastern shore. As a neighboring healthcare provider, TidalHealth shares our goal of providing high quality healthcare close to home. TidalHealth has a longstanding tradition of providing the highest level of specialized care while ensuring patients continue to be cared for by their local physicians. Throughout our discussions, it was clear that we are better together and that our affiliation provides a tremendous opportunity for both organizations and more importantly, our community. A partnership with TidalHealth will provide access to an integrated electronic medical record through Epic, improve the coordination of services and access to care for patients, provide capital funding to expand services and strengthen our hospital’s ability to retain and attract a high-quality workforce.

What are we hoping to achieve in this process?

A partnership with TidalHealth will provide access to an integrated electronic medical record through Epic, improve the coordination of services and access to care for our community, provide capital funding to improve and expand services, and strengthen our hospital’s ability to retain and attract a high-quality workforce.

How will this impact patients?

Patients can continue to access the care providers, services and clinics they use today without disruption.

Patients should keep their appointments and continue to visit the providers, clinics and facilities they always have. We will continue to keep our patients, and our community, informed with any updates as they become available.

What happens next?

With this announcement, both organizations enter into a period of comprehensive due diligence to fully determine the details of a final agreement. Pending further board approvals and standard regulatory review, we hope to reach a decision in spring 2025.

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