08/14/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/14/2024 16:50
Integration into UPHS will expand access to advanced healthcare for patients and families in the suburbs of Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA - Doylestown Health and the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) celebrated the signing of a definitive agreement to become part of Penn Medicine, strengthening the two organizations' shared commitment to delivering the most advanced, convenient and compassionate care to patients and families across the greater Philadelphia region.
Pending final federal and state approvals in the months ahead, the systems aim to integrate clinical care and operations by early 2025, as well as working to develop new programs and enhanced services across four sites of care - in hospitals, outpatient facilities, in the home, and via telemedicine. UPHS and Doylestown Health announced in January that they had signed a letter of intent to integrate.
"At Penn Medicine, we're working to meet patients when and where they need us most," said UPHS CEO Kevin B. Mahoney. "The integration of Doylestown Health into UPHS will enable us to expand access to care by providing leading-edge treatments and novel therapies - services that patients might have to travel far from home to receive - within their communities. Through this strategy, we join the best of Penn Medicine with the best of Doylestown Health to give patients as many convenient pathways as possible to outstanding care and support."
Doylestown Health is a not-for-profit, clinically integrated network of care dedicated to excellence from childbirth to end-of-life. As the flagship of Doylestown Health, Doylestown Hospital provides access to leading specialists, advanced treatments, minimally invasive surgical procedures, clinical trials, and patient-centered care in state-of-the-art facilities.
"The joining of Doylestown Health into Penn Medicine will allow both organizations to provide the highest quality, cost-effective care, right where patients need it," said Doylestown Health President and CEO, Jim Brexler. "In bringing together Doylestown Health's unique brand of care delivered with compassion and expertise and the world-renowned, ground-breaking care that is synonymous with Penn Medicine, we strengthen each organization's ability to provide the healthcare our communities need and deserve."
Upon completion of the approved transaction, the two organizations will build upon their current collaborations. Penn Radiation Oncology at Doylestown, for instance, opened in 2011 and delivers care for more than 400 patients each year. For more than a decade, Doylestown Hospital has been part of the Penn Cancer Network, a select group of hospitals and physician practices throughout the greater Philadelphia region collaborating with Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center to provide expanded access to treatments and clinical trials.
Doylestown Hospital would become the seventh Penn Medicine hospital. In addition to its three Philadelphia hospitals - the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and Pennsylvania Hospital - Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, and Princeton Health are part of UPHS, having joined in 2013, 2015, and 2018, respectively.
Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn's Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of "firsts" in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital-the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.
Doylestown Health is a comprehensive healthcare system of inpatient, outpatient, and wellness education services connected to meet the health needs of the local and regional community. The flagship of Doylestown Health is Doylestown Hospital, a not-for-profit, community teaching hospital with 247 beds and a medical staff of more than 435 physicians who provide the highest quality care in over 50 specialties. Renowned locally, regionally, and nationally, Doylestown Hospital provides superior healthcare and offers advanced surgical procedures, innovative medical treatments, and comprehensive specialty services.
Now in its 100th year of service in central Bucks County, Doylestown Hospital is proud to educate and train the next generation of physicians through its family medicine residency program. Ranked as one of the World's Best Hospitals by Newsweek and 8th in Pennsylvania, Doylestown Hospital is distinguished in both infection prevention and patient experience. Doylestown Hospital is the only hospital in Pennsylvania to achieve 16 consecutive 'A' grades for patient safety from Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade.