Bringing clinical, operational tools to small hospitals

DURHAM, NC – The Duke University Health System and LifePoint Hospitals have established one of the first joint ventures between an academic health system and a hospital operations company in the United States.

Duke has joined with Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint to form DLP Healthcare, a venture intended to create “flexible affiliation options” for community hospitals.

According to Bill Carpenter, CEO of LifePoint Hospitals, the mission of the new entity will be to own and operate a system of highly functioning community hospitals. Carpenter said DLP would provide North Carolina hospitals with clinical and operational support, quality measurement tools and other resources to grow and expand their services.

“This is a challenging time for many community hospitals as the healthcare environment undergoes significant change and costs continue to rise,” Carpenter said. “Duke/LifePoint will provide community hospitals with Duke’s clinical leadership and resources plus the financial and operational experience of LifePoint.”

LifePoint Hospitals operates 52 hospital campuses in 17 states. The company specializes in operating community hospitals in non-urban markets where the hospital is the sole community provider in most of the communities it serves.

While LifePoint will provide community hospitals with access to capital for investments in technology and facility renovations, Duke will focus more on clinical service development and support for enhancing quality systems, said William J. Fulkerson, Jr., MD, executive vice president of the Duke University Health System.

“We believe that Duke/LifePoint offers an attractive option for community hospitals,” Fulkerson said. He said Duke would provide community hospitals with access to “highly specialized medical services” as well as the ability to share best practices with hospitals, clinics and healthcare providers throughout the Duke and LifePoint systems.

Duke and LifePoint have already worked together through an existing affiliation for cardiovascular services at Danville Regional Medical Center in Danville, Va. The collaboration has resulted in the establishment of a systematic evidence-based approach for heart attack patients.

The Duke health system has 11 existing hospital affiliations for cardiovascular services, 15 for cancer related services and 2 for neonatology services.

Maria Parham Medical Center, a private, non-profit hospital in Henderson, N.C., has signed a memorandum of understanding with Duke/LifePoint, making it the first hospital in the new network.

“For the last year, MPMC has explored the possibilities of a partnership or affiliation that would allow us to strengthen our hospital,” said W. Beverly Tucker, MD, chairman of the MPMC board of directors. “Duke/LifePoint has the potential to bring clinical and operational resources that could enhance our ability to grow and provide more services to patients.”