Elizabeth City hospital explores partnership

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C.

Albemarle Hospital could soon work closely with Pitt County Memorial Hospital if their health care systems work out a deal.

Albemarle Health is considering a management agreement with University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina that would include access to advanced treatments and financing for an annual fee that typically reaches six figures.

The group could take on some daily operations from Albemarle Health, which includes Albemarle Hospital and Regional Oncology Center in Elizabeth City and Regional Medical Center in Kitty Hawk.

Officials with both groups are working on a contract that spells out what the management agreement would be. Such agreements differ, said Jeff Dixon, a Pasquotank County commissioner and member of the hospital authority board.

"The main thing is this opens the hospital up to a huge health network."

There are no plans to sell the hospital, change services, salaries or benefits or lay off staff, said Sharon Tanner, president and CEO of Albemarle Health.

"There's no change at all."

Smaller hospitals turn to large groups to keep up with new technology and remain financially viable, she said. Annual profit margins at Albemarle Hospital remain steady at 2 to 3 percent but were higher a few years ago, she said. The annual gross budget is $115 million.

Many smaller hospitals have signed management agreements with large systems in North Carolina, said Don Dalton, spokesman for the North Carolina Hospital Association.

"It's a common practice," Dalton said. "... Generally it helps smaller hospitals have access to expertise they might not otherwise have."

He said he wasn't aware of any such agreements turning into bids for ownership.

In the late 1990s, Pasquotank County commissioners negotiated to sell Albemarle Hospital to a large medical system from Tennessee, but local opposition nixed the deal. In 2000, the county leased the facilities to the Albemarle Hospital Authority, a local government entity created by special legislation. Last year, the lease was extended to 2040. Fluctuating annual lease payments to the county come to about $686,000 annually, Tanner said.

Albemarle Health would continue to refer heart patients to Sentara Healthcare facilities, Tanner said.

Albemarle Health and Sentara teamed up in a bid to build an Outer Banks hospital but lost out to a partnership of University Health Systems and Chesapeake General Hospital, which opened The Outer Banks Hospital in Nags Head in 2002.

University Health Systems has a management agreement with Duplin General Hospital that includes access to advanced diagnostic equipment but does not include hiring physicians or managing finances, said Barbara Dunn, spokeswoman for the health care group.

University Health employs about 8,500 people in five hospitals, including its flagship Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville. The group also is affiliated with Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University.

Albemarle Health also offers primary care at Island Medical Center in Manteo and at Gates County Medical Center in Gatesville. Albemarle Health employs about 1,000 people.

Jeff Hampton, (252) 338-0159, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com