The sun set on Hayes Green Beach Memorial Hospital Monday, Sept. 30, giving life to the sunrise of Sparrow Eaton Hospital as Tuesday, Oct. 1 marked the end of a three-year transition to become a member of the Sparrow Health System.
“HGB celebrates falling gracefully and willfully into Sparrow Eaton’s spring,” said Matt Rush, President of Sparrow Eaton. “Even as we change our name to Sparrow Eaton Hospital we’re not going to lose who we are in becoming all we can be. That’s who we’ve always been.”
Hayes Green Beach entered into an official affiliation agreement with Sparrow three years ago, working to transition to become a Sparrow Community Hospital. The mutual courtship came about as both organizations believed they could provide some aspects of patient care better together, said Richard Bruner, Chair of the Sparrow Health System Board of Directors.
“What we’ve discovered during these years is that the needs, wants and patients in Charlotte and Eaton County are similar to what we see at Sparrow’s 115 other sites of care throughout Mid-Michigan,” Bruner said. “We have the joining of two communities whose thoughts and ideas about how health care should be delivered are well matched.”
Bruner said he believes that all that is good about Hayes Green Beach will continue at Sparrow Eaton with the potential for even more positive outcomes in the future.
Ed Dobbs, Chair of the Sparrow Eaton Board of Directors, said the partnership with Sparrow Health System will ensure Charlotte area’s local hospital will thrive in the future and continue to be the community’s gateway to health.
“It will ensure our sustainability, enhance our scale, secure our debt and further strengthen our financial position,” Dobbs said.
Dobbs said the transition has seen numerous successes, from improved care for patients presenting at Hayes Green Beach with chest pain or stroke symptoms to implementing Sparrow’s Electronic Medical Record system at the Charlotte hospital so that providers from throughout the region can better collaborate on care.
Dr. Kim Friar, Sparrow Eaton Hospital Physician Leader, has been with HGB for nearly 20 years and said the transition to Sparrow Eaton Hospital, while emotional for her in many respects, is vital for the organization’s ability to provide excellent patient care. She said the transition has been made easier by recognizing the synergies between HGB and Sparrow.
“Along with the changing times in health care, it became apparent that in order to serve our community and fulfill our mission, which we all know is to enhance the overall health and vitality of the people in the communities we serve, we needed more than collaboration and cooperation, we needed to become a family member of a larger health system, and the obvious choice was Sparrow.”
Friar said the organizations’ mission statements and core values are congruent.
For more information on Sparrow Eaton and Sparrow’s other Community Hospitals, go to Sparrow.org.
