Saratoga Hospital, a 207-bed community hospital in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Albany Medical Center, a 651-bed academic medical center in Albany, N.Y., are partnering to provide outpatient emergency care at a jointly run facility.
The two organizations have signed a memorandum of agreement to jointly provide services at Saratoga Medical Park in Malta, N.Y. Plans call for a two-story outpatient center that would offer patients a more cost-effective option than hospital emergency departments.
The outpatient center, which would offer a higher level of care than a traditional urgent care center, would also provide access to state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging equipment.
"This collaboration is a smart, cost-effective response to the changing healthcare environment and the growing needs of our community," said Angelo Calbone, president and CEO of Saratoga Hospital.
Calbone and Steven Frisch, MD, executive vice president of Albany Medical Center, stressed that the arrangement applies only to the new center. Elsewhere, both organizations will continue to operate independently.
Frisch said the partnership would help alleviate crowding in Albany Medical Center’s existing emergency departments.
The venture is not the first example of cooperation between the two hospitals. Last year, they launched a collaboration to enhance stroke care. Under that arrangement, the two hospitals are linked electronically, allowing emergency physicians at Saratoga Hospital and stroke specialists at Albany Medical Center to view patient scans simultaneously, in real time, to consult on the best course of treatment.
Details of the joint venture have yet to be finalized, and the agreement must be approved by the New York State Department of Health. The two hospitals expect to file the required certificate of need application with the DOH soon.