RMH Healthcare and Sentara celebrate merger with ceremonial signing
RMH and Sentara officials celebrated the finalization of their recent merger with a ceremonial signing and reception for staff and guests as well as a presentation of donations to two local community health agencies.
“Today, we bring together two outstanding healthcare organizations, each of whom is firmly committed to providing high-quality care, ensuring patient safety and delivering exceptional customer service…each of whom has excellent staff and physicians…each of whom shares a common vision for the future of healthcare,” said Sentara CEO David L. Bernd. “As part of Sentara Healthcare, together, all of us can deliver on the promise embodied in every corner of this new hospital…the promise to bring top-notch care to this community for generations to come.”
RMH President Jim Krauss noted, “RMH is, and always has been, a strong organization. We will be even stronger through this partnership with Sentara. Together, we are better equipped to face the uncertainties of national healthcare reform and other pressures, known and yet unknown, that hospitals must contend with. Together we will further our mission to improve health and promote wellbeing, and our vision to provide exceptional quality and compassionate care for every person, every family, every day.”
Krauss thanked the RMH Board of Directors for having “the courage and foresight to make bold decisions to ensure RMH’s ability to provide exceptional quality and compassionate care to our growing and diverse community for a second century.”
Bernd and Krauss presented $500,000 ceremonial checks to Keith Gnagey, executive director, Harrisonburg Rockingham Free Clinic, and Chris Nye, executive director, Harrisonburg, Community Health Center. Krauss also thanked Sentara for funding a $5 million endowment that will be overseen by the RMH Foundation.
“We are grateful for the continued support of the community we serve,” Krauss said. “We have a unique relationship with our community that Sentara appreciates and respects. And on behalf of the community, I want to thank Sentara for the $5 million endowment which will be invested for the next three years and used to improve the health of our community.”
In welcoming special guests Carter Melton, past RMH president and CEO, and his wife, Connie, Krauss said, “Through Carter’s leadership with RMH for 34 years, we have a strong foundation to build upon.”
RMH is the ninth hospital in the Sentara Healthcare system of not-for-profit hospitals. The merger was official May 1.
“Our partnership with RMH will help to enable you to do what you do best–care for your friends and neighbors in this community,” noted Bernd. “From bringing new babies into the world in a nurturing environment, to providing compassionate care for hospice patients at the end of life and everything in between, we stand committed to serve everyone in this community with exceptional healthcare.”
RMH-Sentara merger finalized
RMH officials announced today that the RMH Healthcare merger with Sentara Healthcare is finalized and the official closing date for the transaction is expected to be around May 1.
“Routine filings need to take place, and we expect these to be completed around May 1,” said Jim Krauss, president of RMH Healthcare. “Then RMH will officially be a proud member of the Sentara Healthcare system. We are pleased to be bringing together the best of our two organizations to meet the healthcare needs of our local community. Sentara is positioned to assure that we fulfill our vision of providing exceptional quality and compassionate care for every person, every family, every day.”
RMH will become the ninth hospital in the Sentara Healthcare system of not-for-profit hospitals, Krauss noted.
“Sentara shares our focus on patient safety and quality and is committed to helping us expand our programs and services,” he said. “Sentara also has high employee satisfaction, low turnover and a culture that fosters excellent patient care and customer service, so I think we’ve picked a great partner.”
Norfolk-based Sentara Healthcare will help safeguard RMH’s future with investments in programs and services to meet the needs of a growing community.
“We are delighted to be officially in Harrisonburg, partnering with RMH Healthcare to improve health every day in this vibrant community,” said Sentara CEO David Bernd. “Together, our strengths in the delivery of high-quality healthcare will enable us to meet the evolving health needs of this community for generations to come. In addition, Sentara is committed to keeping the community’s generous donations to RMH local. All funds raised through the RMH Foundation will remain local and serve to meet RMH’s mission. ”
Conclusion of the agreement marks the beginning of a transition period which could take up to a year as RMH Healthcare and Sentara Healthcare integrate operations, IT technologies, business practices and workplace cultures.
“This will be an exciting time for all of us,” said Bernd. “We’re looking forward to having RMH in the Sentara family.”
Krauss added, “As we enter a new and exciting phase in the life of RMH, it is important to remember that we are still RMH — our community’s healthcare provider, committed to our mission to improve health and promote well being–with the support of a new partner who shares that mission.”
