Emory Healthcare and DeKalb Medical are close to completing their strategic partnership, initiated through a letter of intent signed in November, 2017. The Federal Trade Commission has approved the partnership, and the application will now be filed with the Georgia Attorney General. Pending the Attorney General’s review and approval, the deal is anticipated to close within 100 days, and DeKalb Medical will be part of the Emory Healthcare system.
“These are exciting times at both Emory Healthcare and DeKalb Medical,” says Jonathan S. Lewin, MD, president and CEO of Emory Healthcare. “This partnership means the communities we serve will benefit from an even stronger, accessible, high quality health care provider. We look forward to a healthy future with our new colleagues from DeKalb Medical.”
“Our intent when we began exploring partnerships was to become part of a strong and innovative health system that would ensure our ability to serve our community far into the future,” says Robert E. Wilson, president and CEO and vice chairman of the Board of DeKalb Medical. “We found that partner in Emory, and we are confident that this relationship will benefit both of our organizations and the patients and communities we serve.”
Over the past several months, leaders from both institutions have been immersed in the process of defining the final agreement, and teams have been working to ensure a smooth transition of staff, physicians, patients and processes.
Both Emory Healthcare and DeKalb Medical have a strong historical commitment to DeKalb County. Emory has had a presence in DeKalb for more than 100 years, with more than half its employees residing in DeKalb and the surrounding vicinity. DeKalb Medical has been serving the region’s patients and families for more than 57 years.
DeKalb Medical is a not-for-profit health system consisting of three hospital campuses (DeKalb Medical at North Decatur, DeKalb Medical Long-term Acute Care at Downtown Decatur, and DeKalb Medical at Hillandale), as well as 50 DeKalb Medical Physician Group offices with 158 multi-specialty providers in DeKalb and Gwinnett counties. The medical staff includes more than 800 doctors in 55 specialties.
Emory Healthcare, a nonprofit organization, is the most comprehensive health system in Georgia, with seven hospitals and 200 provider locations in metro Atlanta and surrounding communities, including nearly 60 urgent care clinics. It has more than 2,000 physician providers in 70-plus specialties, including more than 220 in primary care. With an additional 23 regional affiliate hospitals, Emory Healthcare has a footprint in more than 40 counties throughout the state.
Emory Healthcare is the clinical component of Emory University and is part of Emory’s Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center, an academic health center comprising hospitals and clinics as well as schools of medicine, public health, and nursing, the Winship Cancer Institute, and Yerkes National Primate Research Center.
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