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Dover, OH: Union Hospital and Cleveland Clinic have signed a letter of intent for Union Hospital to join the Cleveland Clinic health system.

Representatives of Cleveland Clinic and the Union Hospital Board of Trustees will begin the process to finalize a definitive agreement and seek regulatory approvals so that Union Hospital can become part of Cleveland Clinic no later than Jan. 1, 2018.

In making the announcement today, the Union Hospital Board of Trustees said it is looking forward to expanding services and resources available through Union Hospital and its affiliated operations throughout the area. Under the guidance and management of Cleveland Clinic, Union has the opportunity to add physicians, grow services and become fiscally stronger.

Cleveland Clinic has a rich history of putting patients first, providing quality healthcare and it continues to develop new relationships with physicians.

“We are very pleased and excited to have our strong, community hospital become a part of the Cleveland Clinic family,” said Robert Horn, chairman of the Union Hospital Board of Trustees. “Our highest priority as a hospital has been and will continue to be to provide high-quality healthcare for our patients right here at Union Hospital. The new ownership will set the stage for new services in our area.”

Cleveland Clinic generated an estimated $8 billion in operating revenue in 2016 and is one of the largest and most recognized hospital systems in the United States, ranking second nationally in the “Best Hospitals” category of the U.S. News & World Report annual ratings. Cleveland Clinic has more than 4,400 patient beds across its system, has a medical staff of more than 15,400 physicians, nurses and scientists, and has more than 51,000 employees.

“We are honored to have been selected as Union Hospital’s partner, and look forward to collaborating with the Union Hospital family to expand access to high-quality, affordable healthcare for the local communities of Dover, New Philadelphia and Tuscarawas, Carroll, and surrounding counties,” said Ann Huston, Cleveland Clinic’s Chief Strategy Officer. “Our goal is to apply the collective resources of Cleveland Clinic and Union Hospital to sustain Union as a clinically vibrant and financially strong community-based healthcare system.”

Cleveland Clinic currently operates 10 regional hospitals in Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina and Summit counties.

No other details can be released until the definitive agreement is signed by both hospitals, but Union officials are pleased with the proposed terms outlined in the letter of intent, said Bruce James, president and chief executive officer of Union Hospital. It is expected that the details will be finalized in about 90 days, he added.

Union Hospital has had a service partnership agreement in place for several years with Cleveland Clinic through the Clinic’s Telestroke Network, a tele-medicine connection for treatment of stroke patients at the Union Hospital Lauren Emergency Center and Cleveland Clinic’s Cerebrovascular Center.

Union Hospital, like many independent community hospitals across the country, has been challenged over the past several years by operating costs that were increasing at much higher rates than revenues. Last year, the hospital eliminated 20 jobs as part of a $3-million cost-cutting effort. If cost-cutting continued, eventually it would lead to cutbacks in services and more jobs even though the hospital offers one of the best healthcare values in the state, James said.