South-central Maryland’s Civista Health System will join the University of Maryland Medical System on July 1.
Civista Health, whose largest component is the 130-bed Civista Medical Center, has been operated by UMMS under a management agreement that began in 2009. The renewal terms of the 2009 agreement included a provision for UMMS and Civista Health to affiliate, subject to the approval of both the UMMS and Civista Health boards.
“The past two years have given us an opportunity to experience what a full partnership with the University of Maryland Medical System could mean for Civista Health and the communities we serve,” said Sara Middleton, chairperson of Civista Health’s board. “UMMS possesses the resources and scale to help us fulfill our mission to provide the finest in healthcare services to Charles County and all the citizens of southern Maryland.”
Civista Health and Civista Medical Center will continue to be governed by their own boards and will retain their own foundation. The Civista Health board will nominate a member to the UMMS board.
Civista Chief Executive Officer Noel Cervino, Chief Financial Officer Erik Boas and Chief Medical Officer Mark Dumais, MD, were employees of UMMS under terms of the management agreement and will continue in their current positions. Hospital employees will remain locally directed and employed by Civista Health, and the existing Civista pension and benefit plans will not be affected by the affiliation.
“Healthcare is very local, and to realize our goals of providing effective healthcare in the communities in which we own hospitals, we must have vibrant, local boards as partners. We are very pleased with the partnership that has formed with Civista and look forward to our future together,” said Robert Chrencik, president and CEO of UMMS.
Cervino said the health system has achieved significant progress during the past two years under UMMS’ management. The collaborative relationships between the Civista board of directors, medical staff, management and employees improved significantly to enable the organization’s turnaround, he said. In addition, he said, a solid working relationship between hospital leadership, the Charles County Commissioners and the Charles County delegation formed a strong basis for the improvements that followed.
Civista has increased the size of its campus through several land and building acquisitions, growing by 40 percent over the past two years. Following five consecutive years of losses, Civista Medical Center experienced three consecutive years of operating gains.