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Fremont hospital to negotiate affiliation

Fremont hospital to negotiate affiliation

Memorial, ProMedica plan talks within 90 days

FREMONT -- ProMedica and Memorial Hospital in Fremont plan to negotiate an affiliation within the next 90 days, they announced Thursday.

Spokesmen for neither, however, would comment on whether an affiliation could mean the Fremont hospital will become part of ProMedica, which already has a hospital 23 miles away in Fostoria.

"There's a lot of things that could happen in the negotiation process," said Chasity O'Neill, spokesman for Memorial Hospital.

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Memorial Hospital's board voted Wednesday to enter into a letter of intent to pursue an affiliation, according to a joint news release. Transaction terms and due diligence are expected to be completed in 90 days, it said.

"As a strong health-care provider serving the greater Fremont community for nearly 100 years, this anticipated partnership with ProMedica will further strengthen both organizations and allow us to continue to meet the health needs of our community for generations to come," Memorial Hospital Board Chairman Al Mehlow said in the release.

Randy Oostra, ProMedica's president and chief executive, said in the release: "We are grateful for this opportunity, as this relationship with Memorial Hospital will most certainly reinforce our commitment to Fremont and the northwest Ohio community."

ProMedica spokesman Tim Langhorst declined to elaborate.

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Memorial Hospital has 186 licensed beds, 550 employees, and more than 180 doctors on its medical staff. The hospital opened in 1918. Fremont is about 33 miles southeast of Toledo.

Direct competition, albeit on a small scale, entered the Fremont hospital market nearly three years ago when Physician's Choice Hospital LLC opened. Physician's Choice has eight medical/surgical beds as well as an emergency department, laboratory, and radiology services, according to its Web site.

The entry of Physician's Choice Hospital has nothing to do with Memorial Hospital's talks with ProMedica, said Ms. O'Neill, the spokesman. Memorial Hospital has for four years had a positive operating margin, a measure of revenues from the business of caring for patients, she said.

Last year, financially troubled St. Luke's Hospital in Maumee became part of ProMedica, but the Federal Trade Commission contends the partnership is anti-competitive and divestiture is the only remedy.

ProMedica and St. Luke's are in the process of appealing a recent judgement from a FTC administrative law judge siding with government regulators.

Besides St. Luke's, ProMedica also has Toledo Hospital, Flower Hospital, and Bay Park Hospital in the metro area.

ProMedica has hospitals in Fostoria, Lima, and Defiance, Ohio and in Adrian and Tecumseh, Mich.

ProMedica has nearly 14,000 employees and 3,000 physicians on staff, including more than 315 doctors employed in its own network.

Contact Julie M. McKinnon at: jmckinnon@theblade.com or 419-724-6087.

First Published December 23, 2011, 6:02 a.m.

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