Catholic Medical Center and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic Announce Signing a Letter of Intent

Catholic Medical Center (CMC) and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic, a multi-specialty group physician practice, announce today the signing of a non-binding Letter of Intent creating a platform from which a formal affiliation among their organizations can be pursued.

Over the past five years, Catholic Medical Center and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic have collaborated on several successful and efficient integrated healthcare patient services.

Most recently, in February 2008, Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Norris Cotton Cancer Center at CMC opened, providing expanded chemotherapy and specialty cancer care to patients in southern New Hampshire.  This follows more than 5 years of previous efforts principally with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Manchester that saw a contractual exchange of provider support in the areas of maternity services, cardiology, pulmonology, expanded primary care, and 24/7 hospitalist coverage.  All of these efforts have strengthened the collective ability to provide increased access and care options to the greater Manchester community. 

The two organizations will now enter a period of designing the architecture for a formal affiliation, conducting due diligence and communicating the progress being made to inform the public about the benefits of creating an integrated delivery system.  Under any arrangement the two institutions will retain their respective identities and they will focus on expanding access to new services.

"Together, Catholic Medical Center and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic share a vision of improving the health of the citizens in the greater Manchester area and beyond by enhancing their ability to access high quality healthcare services," says Thomas Colacchio, MD, President, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic.  

"We share a deep commitment to expand access to care - including specialty and sub-specialty care - to local communities where there is an unmet need, particularly to the poor and under-insured," says Steven Paris, MD, Medical Director, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Manchester.

"This affiliation will be a natural and exciting extension of each institution's mission," says Alyson Pitman Giles, President and CEO, CMC.  "By formalizing our conversations and making our Letter of Intent announcement public, we can now openly engage the community and state and federal regulators in soliciting feedback and communicate the benefits of our proposed affiliation."

As part of the process leading up to the signing of the Letter of Intent, Catholic Medical Center has briefed Bishop John McCormack.  Bishop McCormack, steward of Catholic healthcare, has reviewed the Letter of Intent from an ethical, canonical and governance standpoint and has stated that he has no objections to proceeding to the next level of review and due diligence. 

"Healthcare is a vital aspect of our local community life and of our mission as the Catholic Church.  As Bishop of Manchester, and a steward of Catholic healthcare, I am committed to sponsoring the vision and ministry of Catholic Medical Center now and in the future," says, Bishop John B. McCormack, Diocese of Manchester.  "I have given permission to Alyson Pitman Giles, President and CEO of Catholic Medical Center, to continue to explore further collaboration with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic. "

For more information about Catholic Medical Center, visit, www.catholicmedicalcenter.org.  For more information about Dartmouth-Hitchcock, visit, www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org.