(May 20, 2008)—Scott & White Healthcare and Hillcrest Health Systems have signed a memorandum of understanding that’s expected to lead to an affiliation agreement that would give Scott & White 50 percent control of both the existing Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center on Herring Avenue and the new Hillcrest facility under construction at Highway 6 and Interstate 35, officials announced during a news conference Tuesday.

News Ten and kwtx.com first reported the negotiations on Monday.

The agreement is expected to take several months to complete.

Click Here For Full Hillcrest Press Release

“The proposed affiliation with Scott & White is a partnership that will create an evermore comprehensive healthcare delivery system while aligning necessary resources to develop new and needed services for all of Central Texas,” said Glenn Robinson, president and CEO of Hillcrest.

Robinson said the affiliation would also provide “a greater opportunity to bring groundbreaking treatment and technologies directly to the greater McLennan County area.”

Under the agreement, Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center would be governed by a 10-member board, to which each institution would appoint five members, officials said.

The Hillcrest Family Health Center and clinic system will continue to operate independently under the Hillcrest Health System Board, officials said, and Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center employees will continue to be associates of Hillcrest.

Hillcrest will continue to support private practice physicians who chose to admit patients to Hillcrest in what officials called an “open-model” of health care delivery.

“Our commitment as an institution is to provide the highest quality healthcare to our community,” said Hillcrest Health System board of directors chairman Mike Reitmeier.

“We believe the proposed partnership with Scott & White will create access to greater resources for both the hospital and physicians, enhancing the quality of care our community has always enjoyed while maintaining the advantage of a well-run locally-governed healthcare institution.”

The announcement comes less than a year before Hillcrest is set to move into a new multi-million dollar complex near Interstate 35 and South Loop 340.

The talks are the latest development in an ongoing series of agreements and acquisitions involving Scott & White.

Last month, King’s Daughters Clinic became the latest area provider to join the Scott & White Health Plan.

King’s Daughters Clinic has facilities in Killeen, Belton and Temple.

In August 2007, Hillcrest and 45 Hillcrest physicians joined the Scott & White Health Plan’s provider network and Scott & White confirmed it was in talks it hoped would lead to the acquisition of a third-interest in Killeen’s Metroplex Hospital.

Metroplex is operated by the Adventist Health System and includes both the 213-bed hospital in Killen as well as the 25-bed Rollins Brook Community Hospital in Lampasas.

Also, in April Scott & White took over responsibility this month for managing the Llano Memorial Healthcare System, including the 30-bed Llano Memorial Hospital.

The Llano County Hospital Authority Board will continue to govern the hospital.

Scott & White and Lake of the Hills Regional Medical Center reached an understanding in April 2007 and were ironing out details of a jointly owned and operated 120-bed acute care hospital.

Lake of the Hills Regional Medical Center is the non-profit entity the Llano County Hospital Authority created to build and operate the hospital.

It discussed the project with more than 20 potential partners before deciding on Scott & White.

The Lake of the Hills Regional Medical Center will be the centerpiece of the Crossroads Regional Medical Campus at the intersection of Highways 281 and 71 just south of Marble Falls, Scott & White said.

Click Here For King’s Daughters Clinic Web Site

Click Here For Scott & White Health Plan Web Site

Click Here For Metroplex Health System Web Site

Click Here For Hillcrest Web Site
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Brad Vaughn contributed to this story.