The Massachusetts division of the Lifespan healthcare network has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire a not-for-profit hospice agency in Stoughton.
The deal, subject to a final agreement and approval by state regulators, would double Lifespan’s Bay State presence to include two facilities. The network acquired Boston’s prestigious but debt-laden New England Medical Center in Oct. 1997.
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Old Colony Hospice, one of the state’s oldest and largest hospice agencies, opened in 1979 and serves more than 400 patients a year in Bristol, Norfolk and Plymouth Counties in Massachusetts. Hospice care assists patients with long-term illnesses through the last phases of dying, with the goal of providing comfort and a satisfactory quality of life.
The two organizations hope to present a final affiliation agreement to their boards of directors in about 90 days. The agreement would require approval from state regulators in Massachusetts, but not in Rhode Island, Lifespan officials said.
“We selected Lifespan as the best possible partner because we both share a strong commitment to being community leaders in comprehensive care,” said Patricia Resnick Kriensky, president of Old Colony’s board of directors. “In addition, Lifespan has strong operations and systems heading into the future.”
Lifespan’s New England Medical Center is also strategically located. The hospital draws largely on patients south of Boston where the hospice is located, near Quincy and Brockton. Under the terms of the preliminary agreement, Analee Wulfkuhle, Old Colony’s chief executive officer, would become president and executive director for Hospice Care of Rhode Island, which is owned by Lifespan, and the executive director of all hospice and palliative-care services for Lifespan. The two hospice agencies would maintain separate boards of directors.
Meanwhile, Lifespan — composed of five hospitals — is working on a much larger merger with Care New England, which includes Butler, Women & Infants and Kent County Memorial hospitals. The deal that would create a $1.4-billion corporation is subject to approval by Attorney General-elect Sheldon Whitehouse and the state Department of Health.
