Four years since initiating a partnership, Augusta University Health System and Wellstar Health System tied the knot Wednesday and became a unified health system.
“Much due diligence has been done on both sides. This dating relationship has been deep, and it’s been involved, and I think both parties know exactly what they are getting into,” University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue said, comparing the partnership to a marriage.
“We’ve said ‘I do,’ and now the work begins, and maybe these cultures come together to really execute and implement what we envision as the best health opportunities of any state in the nation,” Perdue said.
At a Wednesday ceremony, the former governor told gathered dignitaries they will “look back on this day as truly an historical moment in healthcare in Georgia.”
In addition to improving health options, the merger is expected to grow the Medical College of Georgia into one of the nation’s largest public medical schools by expanding educational opportunities.
“Today we are delighted to have a world class partner in the Wellstar system,” Perdue said, “and to come together side-by-side and to finish off that medical education in a modern clinical environment, that will enable our physicians to be the very best, not only in academics and what they learned but in the clinical practice and operating in a modern environment.”
As early as 2014, AU Health System began searching for a private partner, eventually selecting the Marietta-based health system, which now owns 10 hospitals. After announcing the proposed merger last year, the plan underwent regulatory approvals and a waiting period prior to the officials consummating the deal Wednesday.
The merger impacts AU Health Systems, the Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation and Specialty Hospitals and the new hospital in Columbia County, for which AU Health obtained a certificate of need.
Wellstar CEO Candice Saunders said the system provided over $1 billion in community benefits, serving nearly one in six Georgians, last year.
‘We are excited to officially welcome our AUHS colleagues to the Wellstar team,” she said. “Locally, AUHS will be known as Wellstar MCG Health. It may be a new name, but it reflects generations of compassionate care and expert care…. as well as a rich history of innovation, research and education.”
Doug Duncan, chairman of the Columbia County Board of Commissioners, said while his county has waited long for its own hospital, the success of both campuses is critical.
“What’s important to Columbia County, what’s important to me, is we have a symbiotic relationship with Augusta, so this downtown campus has to succeed as well as the Columbia County hospital,” Duncan said. “The deals were conjoined, if that’s the right word, with Wellstar investing $200 million in this campus as well as building the hospital in Columbia County should make the entire community stronger.”
Wellstar’s total capital commitment is $797 million over 10 years, which includes spending $31 million per year at the downtown campus for two years followed by $139 million over years 7-10. Wellstar MCG Health must maintain specific clinical services such as emergency medical, obstetrics-gynecology, the Children’s Hospital of Georgia and trauma care downtown for a decade.
While local and state support has been strong, the merger wasn’t universally welcomed, because it followed Wellstar’s decision to close two Atlanta hospitals last year. It also eliminated benefits and programs that were available to medical staff as state employees.
But it was necessary under today’s economic conditions, AU president Brooks Keel said at a June hearing.
In return, the merger will “enable our health systems to thrive and extend our mission” by creating a “larger pipeline” for health professions, he said Wednesday.
“As the state of Georgia’s only public academic medical center, Augusta University and the Medical College of Georgia have a mission to serve the entree state,” Keel said.
