PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island’s largest health system could be in the market for a new name.
Kathleen Hart, a spokesperson for Lifespan Corp., confirmed that leaders are in discussions with Brown University about potentially rebranding the health system, in a statement to Providence Business News.
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Brown President Christina H. Paxson on Monday in an email to the university’s medical school community acknowledged that boards representing Brown and Lifespan have separately voted this month on the “parameters of a new nonbinding term sheet” that would allow the institutions to “strengthen existing affiliation and licensing agreements.”
Paxson added that details about the new agreement will be worked out in the next several months and that the timing of these conversations is “natural” as Lifespan and Brown’s existing affiliation agreement is set to expire on Dec. 31, Paxson wrote.
Also, Paxson noted that Lifespan and Brown would remain two “separate and distinct nonprofit organizations” and the new agreement would not affect the university’s affiliations with other health care providers including: Care New England, the VA Providence Healthcare System, HopeHealth and Brown Physicians Inc.
Both Hart and Paxson said the agreement will boost ties between the institutions, as several physicians at Lifespan’s teaching hospitals – Rhode Island, The Miriam and Bradley – are also faculty members of Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School.
“We’re always looking for ways to strengthen our longstanding partnership,” Hart said.
Paxson also pointed out that Lifespan, Brown and Care New England will continue partnering through an aligned research collaboration, known as the Brown Innovation and Research Collaborative for Health or BIRCH, that was signed last year.
Both Lifespan and Brown have also joined Care New England and the University of Rhode Island in support of creating the Rhode Island Life Science Hub. The long-awaited hub has recently been kickstarted when Gov. Daniel J. McKee nominated Neil D. Steinberg as chairman of the board of the hub, which local health leaders have celebrated as an opportunity to strengthen partnerships and boost the state’s contributions to the growing biotech industry.
Along with these partnerships, Paxson wrote that Lifespan and Brown have also been working to create more jobs, improve access to primary and specialty care as well as foster environments conducive for medical education.
“Both Brown and Lifespan collectively aspire to ensure robust health care services and biomedical research in Rhode Island and beyond,” Paxson wrote. “The discussions between Brown and Lifespan reflect an ongoing shared commitment to aligning the strengths of both institutions, bolstering the connections between and across delivery of care, medical training and biomedical research.”
(SUBS third paragraph to clarify separate votes by Lifespan and Brown.)
Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You can reach her at Castellani@PBN.com.
