January 29, 1999

Newton-Wellesley Hospital (NWH) and Partners HealthCare System approved a final agreement Jan. 25 that adds NWH as the fourth full acute-care member of Partners. NWH will keep its name and continue to be governed by a local, community-based, nonprofit board of trustees.

"We chose Newton-Wellesley to join our network because of its excellent physicians and long-standing role as the premier community teaching hospital in the western suburbs," said Samuel O. Thier, MD, president and chief executive officer of Partners. "Our institutions and physicians share a common vision for the future of health care delivery, and we are delighted to move forward with this long-awaited relationship."

NWH is a nonprofit organization that provides a wide range of services, including medical, surgical, obstetrical, pediatric and psychiatric care. NWH has been serving its community for more than a century. The medical staff of the hospital includes nearly 1,000 physicians practicing a full range of specialties.

"Our affiliation with Partners adds a degree of surety that Newton-Wellesley will continue to provide high-quality health care in our region as we move into the next century and face the many challenges of a rapidly changing health care environment," said John P. Bihldorff, NWH president and chief executive officer.

According to Bihldorff, the new affiliation will give NWH patients greater access to the resources and technology of the MGH and BWH. Patient care will be enhanced by systemic coordination and collaboration between Newton-Wellesley's physicians and the physicians in the tertiary hospitals. To help facilitate this collaboration under the agreement, Newton-Wellesley physicians, through their physician/hospital organization (Newell Medical Delivery Organization), also will become members of Partners Community HealthCare, Inc. (PCHI).

"We decided to move forward with Partners because we believe it fully recognizes and is committed to our role in meeting the health care needs of our community," added Bihldorff. "We are honored and proud to be part of one of the finest health care systems in the country."

The affiliation was reviewed by federal antitrust agencies, the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office and the Department of Public Health.