Massachusetts General Hospital is planning a new clinical partnership with Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, N.H, its second move into the Granite State in recent months.
Mass. General, the largest teaching hospital in New England, and Catholic Medical said they will work together to increase access to specialized services for residents of Southern New Hampshire. Doctors from both hospitals will collaborate on heart surgery, stroke care, substance abuse treatment, and health services for veterans.
Leaders of both hospitals said it makes sense to team up because they’re located just about an hour apart. Physicians from Mass. General may train physicians in New Hampshire and travel there to provide certain services under the affiliation. Mass. General also could see a bump in referrals from Catholic Medical, a 330-bed hospital, as part of the deal.
“New Hampshire is not that far,’’ said Dr. Peter Slavin, president of Mass. General. “It’s much closer to Boston than many parts of Massachusetts. It has a large and growing population, so it’s an important area for us to serve.’’
Dr. Louis Fink, executive medical director of the heart and vascular center at Catholic Medical, said in a statement that it will be especially helpful to collaborate on treatments for patients with “uncommon or exceptionally complex’’ conditions.
Manchester’s other major medical center, Elliot Hospital, is also looking to link up with a larger health system. Earlier this year, Elliot hired a firm to help it explore potential partnerships, a process that drew interest from Lahey Health of Burlington and others. Elliot ultimately decided to discuss an affiliation with Dartmouth-Hitchcock of Lebanon, N.H.
Mass. General, meanwhile, is also planning to acquire Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, N.H., pending regulatory approvals.
That would be the first out-of-state acquisition for Mass. General and its parent company, Partners HealthCare, which is Massachusetts’ dominant health care system.
Partners faced opposition last year when it tried to acquire three Massachusetts hospitals. It eventually dropped those deals, and Partners’ chief executive, Dr. David Torchiana, said the health system would look to grow in other states and other countries.
Priyanka Dayal McCluskey can be reached at priyanka.mccluskey@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @priyanka_dayal.
