Cedars-Sinai and Torrance Memorial Announce Proposed Affiliation
Contact Duke Helfand, duke.helfand@cshs.org, or Ann O'Brien, ann.obrien@tmmc.com
Los Angeles — May 10, 2017 — Cedars-Sinai and Torrance Memorial today announced plans for a formal affiliation designed to strengthen both organizations' ability to serve the community and to enhance access, coordination and quality of care for the public.
Under the proposed affiliation, each institution will retain its respective board of directors and continue to operate separately but will affiliate under a new parent organization with a new board of directors, to be called Cedars-Sinai Health System.
The proposed affiliation will provide a platform for collaborations in primary and specialty care, expanded access to the latest clinical trials and an efficient sharing of resources between the institutions.
While the proposed affiliation has been approved by each institution's board of directors, it will soon be submitted for review by regulatory agencies that approve proposed affiliations of this type. The regulatory approval process is expected to take about six months.
Torrance Memorial includes the 470-bed Torrance Memorial Medical Center in addition to a multispecialty physician group (Torrance Memorial Physician Network), an independent physician association (Torrance Health IPA) and an accountable care organization (Torrance Memorial Integrated Physicians), which collectively include more than 500 physicians. Torrance Memorial also has several outpatient centers throughout the South Bay region.
Cedars-Sinai includes the 886-bed Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the 145-bed Marina Del Rey Hospital, a multispecialty physician network of 887 doctors (Cedars-Sinai Medical Network) and many primary care, urgent care and specialty care centers throughout the Los Angeles region. It also is a major research and education center, with more than 1,500 current research projects and 480 clinical trials, and it trains 473 medical residents and fellows.
The affiliation will focus on new opportunities for coordination of care and resources between the two organizations and joint programs to provide access to more people for needed medical services as well as access to clinical trials and the latest developments in medical research.
Each organization will continue to have its own board, its own hospital medical staff and related physician organizations, and its own employees. Each organization's president and CEO (Craig Leach at Torrance Memorial and Thomas M. Priselac at Cedars-Sinai) will continue to lead his respective entity, with Priselac also to serve as president and CEO of the parent entity, Cedars-Sinai Health System.
Both organizations will continue their longstanding partnerships with local community organizations aimed at improving health.
Cedars-Sinai (founded in 1902) and Torrance Memorial (founded in 1925) are two of California's longest-serving nonprofit healthcare organizations. In the past several years, they have collaborated on a variety of projects such as the establishment of a telestroke program to more quickly diagnose and treat stroke patients.
"In seeking an affiliation, we wanted to find a partner that had a good understanding of and respect for our history, our mission and the communities we serve," Leach said.
"Working with Cedars-Sinai over the years, we have been impressed not only with their quality and commitment, but with their ability to work constructively with a wide variety of stakeholders, to listen carefully, and to develop programs that effectively serve the community's needs."
Priselac emphasized the importance of developing collaborative efforts in the proposed affiliation.
"While both Torrance Memorial and Cedars-Sinai have strong track records for serving the region, the governance structure of the proposed affiliation is designed to foster collaboration and share resources to further enhance those capabilities to benefit patients and the community," Priselac said.
About Torrance Memorial Medical Center
Founded in 1925 by Jared Sidney and Helena Childs Torrance, Torrance Memorial Medical Center is a 470-bed, nonprofit medical center established to provide quality healthcare services predominantly to the residents of the South Bay, Peninsula and Harbor communities. Torrance Memorial seeks to offer the most current and effective medical technologies rendered in a compassionate, caring manner. In 2012, it joined the ranks of the top hospitals in the nation by earning coveted Magnet® recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, which recognizes nursing excellence. Torrance Memorial also has been ranked as one of the best hospitals for 2016-17 in California and the Los Angeles metro area for the fifth year straight by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, please visit TorranceMemorial.org.
About Cedars-Sinai
Cedars-Sinai is a national leader in providing high-quality, patient-centered healthcare encompassing primary care as well as specialized medicine and research that leads to lifesaving discoveries and innovations. Since its beginning in 1902, Cedars-Sinai has evolved to meet the healthcare needs of one of the most diverse regions in the nation, continually setting new standards in quality and innovation in patient care, research, teaching and community service. Today, Cedars-Sinai is widely known for its national leadership in transforming healthcare for the benefit of patients. Cedars-Sinai impacts the future of healthcare globally by developing new approaches to treatment and educating tomorrow's physicians and other health professionals. At the same time, Cedars-Sinai demonstrates a longstanding commitment to strengthening the Los Angeles community through wide-ranging programs that improve the health of its most vulnerable residents.