The University Medical Center and Culpeper Regional Hospital are one step closer to a mutually beneficial partnership, officials said, now that the two health institutions’ boards have both agreed to a University investment in the hospital totaling $40 million.
The deal, which must be reviewed by Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonell prior to being finalized, will greatly benefit the growing Culpeper area as a whole, as well as the hospital’s many patients, Culpeper Regional Hospital spokesperson Abra Hogarth said. The partnership is expected to be fully approved by Jan. 1, Hogarth said.
“It gives us access to capital, technology and expertise,” Hogarth said, noting that the agreement will help the hospital increase bed space and allow it to hire more personnel.
Culpeper Regional Hospital, however, is not the only party that would benefit from the investment. Larry Fitzgerald, University Medical Center chief financial and business development officer, said the agreed-upon partnership is a furthered commitment to the Medical Center’s priorities.
“The fundamental reason that we make any investment like this is that the patient is the center of our universe,” Fitzgerald said. He noted that some Culpeper residents requiring more advanced care currently have to be cared for at the University Medical Center, about an hour from their homes. Because of this new partnership, though, residents may be able to acquire specialized care at their regional hospital, he said.
In turn, Fitzgerald said, space in the University Medical Center will be freed up, allowing more patient care in Charlottesville. He said bed space is frequently at a premium in the Medical Center, and an agreement of this type will be mutually beneficial.
Both Fitzgerald and Hogarth said the agreement may also lend itself to an increase in residencies for University Medical students.
“It’s possible,” Hogarth said, noting that the two institutions should be able to more fully articulate the implications of the deal in the near future. “We’re in the process of exploring what we can do together.”
As part of the investment, the University will now have five members on the Culpeper Regional Hospital board, Hogarth said. The remaining eight members will be from Culpeper, and the hospital will still control daily operations and retain its independent, non-profit status, Hogarth said; however, the University will have “an added interest” in the hospital because of the deal.
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