Charlevoix Area Hospital (CAH) and Munson Healthcare have approved an agreement under which the hospital will join Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital, Munson Healthcare Grayling Hospital, Munson Medical Center, and Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital as fully integrated hospitals in the Munson Healthcare system. The agreement also includes the outpatient clinics and medical practices CAH owns and operates in Boyne City, Charlevoix, and East Jordan.

“Following our announcement to explore a closer affiliation last summer, the CAH Board of Directors considered a range of options for deepening the relationship,” says Ruth Hoppe, M.D., chair of the CAH Board. “We determined that having Munson Healthcare as our parent company is the most effective way to ensure ongoing hospital success in the changing health care environment.”
Hoppe said the challenges to providing high quality care in northern Michigan – a large rural population and significant geographic distances between communities – make it critical for health care providers to join forces and work together.

Charlevoix Area Hospital CEO Lyn Jenks said the agreement was a result of the hospital board’s proactive and thoughtful evaluation of the strategies needed to ensure the hospital remains a successful provider and economic engine for the Charlevoix region.

“As Charlevoix County’s second largest employer, Charlevoix Area Hospital has been fortunate to remain viable through many of these changes,” Jenks says. “However, it’s time to take the next step to ensure sustainability for the next 100 years. This is really an evolution of our long-standing partnership with Munson Healthcare and a positive, logical next step.”

A closing date for the new structure and the beginning of combined operations has been set for Dec. 1, 2015, pending regulatory approvals. At that time, the hospital’s name will change to Munson Healthcare Charlevoix Hospital.