Document text
Health Trust docs might go it alone By SUSAN JAY Physicians belonging to the Southern Oregon Health Trust are exploring other business options, including leaving the Trust and establishing their own practice. The Trust group of 38 doctors is owned by the Asante Health System, a nonprofit corporation that owns the Rogue Valley Medical Center, Three Rivers Hospital in Grants Pass and Hearthstone nursing home. Asante officials and the Trust's board of directors announced last week to Trust employees that they are discussing other options for doctors. Roy Vinyard, Asante CEO, and Trust board chairman Dr. Bill Husum assured the 285 Trust employees that the two parties will work for a smooth transition and are committed to open communication. Also, the changes being considered will not affect services to patients, they said. "We have had a good, positive working relationship with Asante for the past six years," Husum said. "In the current climate of medical reimbursement and regulatory changes, the relationship no longer works in the best interest of both parties. "The common goal of Asante and the SOHT is to make certain that primary care services provided by SOHT physicians continue to be available to the communities they serve," Husum said. The Trust physicians work in 11 clinics, including Jacksonville, White City and Ruch. They were also in the midst of building two other clinics, one in west Medford and another on East Barnett Road. The Rogue Valley Medical Center formed the Trust in 1993, at a time when many hospitals were aligning with doctor groups. Providence Health System also has a doctors' group. Recent changes in reimbursement from medical insurance companies and Medicare have caused a reevaluation of physician-hospital partnerships, Asante and Trust officials said. Asante and the Trust intend to complete their changes by the beginning of next year. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA