HGB, Sparrow celebrate formal affiliation agreement

With local leaders, staff and special guests on hand, Hayes Green Beach Memorial Hospital celebrated its formal affiliation with Sparrow Hospital on Tuesday, Oct. 11. The finalization of the formal agreement, which is the result of a successful four-year contractual partnership between the two hospitals, became official Oct. 1.
“It became clear when we talked about what’s next, as we came to the end of our four-year arrangement, that our partnership really began to flourish,” said HGB President and CEO Matt Rush. “So from a position of strength, we knocked on Dennis’s (Swan) door. To his credit, and to his board’s credit, we’ve been working on a very creative affiliation model for the last year, year and a half, that’s going to formalize our path to becoming a part of the Sparrow family.”
Rush said this new agreement was about choice, as the hospital had many options in planning its long-term future.
“We chose Sparrow for the long run to benefit our patients and community,” Rush said. “We have very similar mission, vision and values. We look forward to deploying the resources that are going to emanate from this affiliation for the greater good, and the health and vitality of the entire Eaton County community.”
Sparrow Hospital President and CEO Dennis Swan said he and his board have long been impressed with the passion, enthusiasm and dedication the people of Hayes Green Beach have for safety, quality, satisfaction and value. He said there are several points patients, staff, and community members can expect moving forward.
“You’ll see a shared commitment of HGB and Sparrow that the needs of our patients are always going to come first,” Swan said. “That is first and foremost for us and made this integration discussion very easy because we could see HGB has that same promise.”
Swan said the two entities will ensure access to care as close to home as possible. He said this agreement does not mean more patients will simply be transferred to Sparrow. The intent is to bring the best care possible to HGB. Swan said recruiting and retaining outstanding physicians, nurses, and staff to serve the greater-Charlotte area will remain a priority.
“We have great confidence with the staff here at HGB and we intend to work very closely with them to recruit and retain top-notch people,” Swan said.
He added that Sparrow will consistently rely on the HGB board of directors, physicians and staff to identify the growing and changing healthcare needs of the community.