MARSHFIELD, Wis. (WSAU) — Marshfield Clinic and Aspirus are looking to enter a partnership to help Marshfield get a new hospital in the Eau Claire area.
The two groups announced today that they are signing a non-binding letter of intent to pursue that partnership. A statement released today says this will not be a merger or acquisition. Marshfield Clinic has moved into a membership with AboutHealth, which is a partnership with a number of Wisconsin health care groups including Aspirus, UW Health, Theda Health and Beillin Health.
MCHS executive director Dr. Narayana Murali says that the move may seem strange to some people. “We have traditionally been competing. We’re going to continue to compete, but we recognize that we need to collaborate to provide care.” Murali says that they’re seeking Aspirus’s experience in building hospitals in order to create a new facility focused on low cost inpatient/outpatient services
Aspirus CEO Matthew Heywood says the partnership will also mean an integration of Marshfield’s excellent medical records systems into the AboutHealth group. “The patient will experience a better flow of information, and that will mean potentially identifying trends, seeing care opportunities that you may not have seen if you didn’t see the whole record, and potentially seeing there was already a test and why do you need to do that test again, which reduces costs to that patient and to the community.”
The move will also provide Marshfield Clinic a minority interest in Aspirus Riverview where a number of MCHS doctors had been providing care already.
The agreement is only in its very early stages and Murali says he’s excited to see where it will lead in the future.
