Hospital wraps clinic merger

Whitman Hospital and Medical Center and Whitman Medical Group Tuesday concluded negotiations for the hospital to acquire the clinic operation. They also signed a professional services agreement for doctors and advanced practitioners to staff the clinic.

The hospital will add 48 employees which were on the clinic staff as of Sept. 30.

Closing of the merger followed negotiations which started last May, according to Hank Hanigan, hospital CEO. The negotiations were initiated by the medical group.

The hospital, which owns the clinic building, has assumed the assets and liabilities of the clinic. That worked out to payment of $199,696 by the hospital to the medical group.

The professional services agreement with the physicians and advanced practitioners calls for a payment of $4 million a year over a three-year span. It includes an option for a six-month extension at the end of the three years if needed to negotiate a new agreement. The extension would be for $2 million.

Whitman Medical Group includes six physicians and five advanced practitioner providers.

Hanigan said employee training has already started for the conversion. All billing for clinic services will be done by the hospital.

The agreement includes the clinics at St. John and Tekoa. They will continue to operate four days a week.

The medical clinic at Colfax will continue to operate five and one-half days a week, Hanigan said.