November 1, 2002

Jameson Health System Announces the Acquisition

of Assets of St. Francis Hospital of New Castle

New Castle, Pa.  -  Today, Jameson Health System announced the acquisition of the St. Francis Hospital of New Castle.  The assets include St. Francis Hospital, St. Francis School of Nursing, St. Francis School of Radiology, St. Francis Vista South and two offices in Plaza South.

            According to Thomas White, President/CEO of Jameson Health System, “the objective of this effort is to ensure the continuation of quality health services at the two facilities for the people of New Castle and Lawrence County.” 

The Jameson Hospital will now consist of two locations: Jameson North Campus on Wilmington Road and Jameson South Campus (formerly St. Francis Hospital) on South Mercer Street.  White noted that the services to be provided at the two campuses would ensure the continuous delivery of care to the community.

North Campus                                                           South Campus                                  

Obstetrics/Pediatric/Family Care                                  Psychiatric Inpatient/Outpatient

Medical Surgical                                                          Health & Human Services

Diagnostic Services                                                      Non-Urgent Treatment

Radiology                                                                     Outpatient Surgery

Laboratory                                                                   Home Health Care

Pulmonary Medicine                                                     Hospice

Lung Center                                                                 Radiology

Cancer Center                                                              Laboratory

Emergency Services                                                      Teleradiography

Cardiac Care                                                                Materials Management

Neurology                                                                    Community Center

Endocrinology/Diabetes Clinic                                       Long Term Care (IP)

Rehabilitation                                                                School of Nursing

School of Nursing                                                         Detox Beds

According to Chris Mitsos, Chairman of Jameson Health System Board, “this acquisition marks a new era of health care delivery to the community.  For the first time, the community will have a single provider of services under independent, local control and leadership.  Maintaining community control of health care is critical as the health care needs of the community can best be determined by the physicians who practice in the community and the people who live and work in the community.” 

Mitsos added that the acquisition of St. Francis by Jameson enables the effective and efficient utilization of both hospitals thereby eliminating costly duplicative services and enabling the development and expansion of programs and services to better serve the community.

Dr. Stuart Gardner, president of Jameson’s Medical Staff commented, “From a physician/patient point of view, this transaction will allow for a more coordinated delivery of care that will benefit the total community.”  The St. Francis staff and the Jameson staff will now be one and will direct their efforts to providing services in a most efficient way resulting in expanded access and continued patient-oriented services. 

Mr. White announced that in order to accomplish a successful transition, there will be certain administrative changes as well as organizational changes.  He announced that Mr. Donald Melonio, Executive Vice President will also assume Chief Operating Officer responsibilities for the Health System.  Mr. James Aubel will become the System’s Chief Financial Officer and Mr. Douglas Danko, Vice President of Professional Services, will also be the Director of Operations at the Jameson South Campus.

“Emergency services will be relocated to Jameson North because of the closure by St. Francis Hospital of its emergency department,” said White.  He further indicated that efforts are underway to ensure that all patients in need of emergency care will have access to a high level of emergency services at Jameson North.  This will be accomplished by expanding the Emergency Department facility to increase the number of beds, increase physician and nurse staffing and increase the number of cardiac monitors available.  A Fast Track treatment program is being implemented which will expedite care for patients with non-urgent conditions.

According to Mr. White “the full consolidation of services will take approximately six months.”  However, he indicated that because Jameson has been successful in employing over 300 of the employees of St. Francis, the transition will advance in an orderly and seamless fashion.

 “The medical community embraces this effort and is working with the Hospital’s board and administration to ensure its success,” commented Dr.Gardner.  He also noted that the medical staff will continue to meet all medical needs of the patients.

“The consolidation of Jameson and St. Francis into one strong community hospital presents an opportunity to advance the quality of life and health status of the people of Lawrence County,” said White.

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