The Erlanger Health System Board of Trustees unanimously approved a new affiliation agreement with the University of Tennessee at the Thursday board meeting. The 10-year agreement replaces an older contract and “solidifies and modernizes a lot of things that were already in place,” explained Erlanger President and CEO Kevin M. Spiegel, FACHE.
“This affiliation agreement signifies much more than a document,” Mr. Spiegel added. “As the region’s only Academic Medical Center, this partnership will greatly enhance the recruitment of top-notch physicians to our community, increase clinical research participation, and lead to even better quality outcomes."
The contract spells out the exclusive relationship and financial obligations of the two groups in the region, and states that both parties will work to create a “physician organization.” The creation of a physician organization could consolidate both the academic and hospital-based physician practices under one organization.
Dr. Steve Schwab, chancellor of the UT Health Science Center, said the agreement enhances an “already successful partnership. … Together, we are committed to developing an academic medical center that will support and serve this community’s needs now and for generations to come.”