WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Update Oct. 11: UnityPoint Health and Presbyterian Healthcare Services have decided to not form a new healthcare company together after "significant planning and consideration."
Original story:
UnityPoint Health and Presbyterian Healthcare Services have signed a letter of intent to "explore the formation of a new healthcare organization," according to a news release sent to News 8 by UnityPoint on Thursday.
UnityPoint Health is based out of West Des Moines and has five locations across the Quad Cities area, including Moline, Rock Island, Bettendorf and Muscatine. Presbyterian Healthcare is based out of New Mexico.
According to the release, UnityPoint Health and Presbyterian combine to serve 4 million patients and members, and have more than 40 hospital facilities and hundreds of clinics.
The workforce between the two would include 40,000 employees including nearly 3,000 physicians and advanced practice clinicians.
UnityPoint said in the release that the goals from the exploration include "making greater investments in clinical excellence, digital innovation, workforce development and value-based care while lowering overall administrative costs."
“UnityPoint Health and Presbyterian are two organizations rooted in similar values,” Clay Holderman, president and CEO, UnityPoint Health, said. “By lowering administrative costs, building new capabilities and increasing investments in innovation and clinical excellence, our intent is to help improve affordability and accessibility of care. We’re excited about the unique possibilities ahead.”
“As a not-for-profit health system, we must pave a sustainable path forward to continue serving our communities with care and coverage. While we’ve done that successfully independently, we know that partnering with like-minded health systems will allow us to accelerate our efforts,” Dale Maxwell, president and CEO, Presbyterian Healthcare Services, said.
“UnityPoint Health shares in our commitment to keeping healthcare delivery local and creating a culture where the workforce thrives which will serve as foundational elements as we embark on this journey," Maxwell said.