Glens Falls Hospital and Albany Med have approved a definitive agreement for Glens Falls Hospital to become an affiliate of Albany Med.
The agreement was approved in September by both boards following a nearly year-long due diligence process undertaken by both organizations. Both will now begin working through the necessary regulatory approvals needed to finalize the affiliation, which is expected to be complete in 2020, officials said.
It’s not official yet. The agreement still needs state and federal approval. That will take about a year, said Albany Medical Center spokesman Jeffrey Gordon.
“Glens Falls Hospital is evolving to ensure we are strong not just today, but for generations to come, and we are excited to have reached another significant milestone toward becoming an affiliate of Albany Med,” said Dianne Shugrue, Glens Falls Hospital president and CEO. “Albany Med has long been recognized as a premier healthcare provider, and we look forward to joining their organization once the affiliation is finalized.”
“Over many years, Albany Med has been working to build a health care system that provides our region access to the highest quality of care possible, and to ensure that residents throughout Northeastern New York can receive the type of care typically available only in major metropolitan centers,” said Dr. Steven Frisch, Albany Med senior executive vice president.
“Glens Falls Hospital has long been a partner in care with us. We look forward to working closely with them to help provide our communities with the best care options possible, just as we have in our affiliations with Saratoga Hospital and Columbia Memorial Health,” he said.
Through a strategic affiliation with Albany Med, Glens Falls Hospital will:
• Continue to strengthen and advance the quality of care available in the Glens Falls region;
• Maintain and enhance the long-term financial viability of Glens Falls Hospital;
• Recruit and retain highly-skilled physicians; and
• Ensure our friends and neighbors have access to compassionate, high-quality healthcare for years to come.
Glens Falls Hospital leaders emphasized that nothing changes for employees, patients or the community. Next steps will be to obtain approval from the state and federal governments.
Shugrue noted that Glens Falls Hospital is committed to providing employees, patients and the community with updates as the organizations move closer to finalizing the affiliation.
Glens Falls Hospital maintains a service area that spans 6,000 square miles across five counties. Founded in 1897, it today operates an advanced health care delivery system featuring more than 20 regional facilities.
The main hospital campus is home to the C.R. Wood Cancer Center, the Joyce Stock Snuggery birthing center, the Breast Center and a chronic wound healing center.
For more information visit www.GlensFallsHospital.org.
Albany Med, northeastern New York’s only academic health sciences center, is one of the largest private employers in the Capital Region. It incorporates the 766-bed Albany Medical Center Hospital and the Albany Medical College, which trains the next generation of doctors, scientists and other healthcare professionals, and also includes a biomedical research enterprise and the region’s largest physicians practice with more than 500 doctors.
Albany Med is affiliated with Columbia Memorial Health and Saratoga Hospital to provide the largest locally governed health system in the region. Combined, these three hospitals offer nearly 1,100 beds and outpatient locations throughout the Capital Region.
