Mount St. Mary’s Hospital and Health Center in Lewiston is formally joining the Catholic Health system. The organizations have been affiliated for years through the Acension Health system, but now they’re making it official.
Mount St. Mary’s Hospital will join the five other western New York hospitals affiliated with Catholic Health. As part of the collaboration, Mount St. Mary’s will have full access to Catholic Health’s administrative and corporate services.
President and CEO of Mount St. Mary’s Judith Maness said the affiliation is expected to lower the overall cost of doing business, making the hospital stronger financially.
“Clinically, I believe that our work together has already set the stage for us to only be stronger together. So, clinically enhanced services, enlarged programs, access to physicians through catholic medical partners that we might not alone be able to attract in Niagara County,” said Maness.
No lay-offs are anticipated for Catholic Health or Mount St. Mary’s due to the collaboration. President and CEO of Catholic Health Joe McDonald says there have been discussions for years for Mount St. Mary’s to join Catholic Health, but recent changes in healthcare locally and nationally created a greater push for the collaborative agreement.
“We’ve done a great deal of planning and thinking about how this goes, but the real critical issue is having this community in Niagara County and the associates that come to Mount St. Mary’s understand that our focus is going to be on strengthening the capabilities of Mount St. Mary’s to serve this region,” said McDonald.
The transition will require corporate, religious and governmental approval before it’s passed on to the state for approval. The partnership is expected to be legally official late next year.
The Our Lady of Peace Nursing Care Residence in will not be part of the collaboration and will remain part of Acension Health.