Gaffney Medical Center and Mary Black Memorial Hospital have united to form a combined health system to be known as Mary Black Health System – Gaffney and Mary Black Health System – Spartanburg. Affiliated physician practices will be identified as Mary Black Physicians Group.
Leadership and operations at the Gaffney hospital will not be changed, a spokeswoman told reporters. The current owner of Mary Black Memorial Hospital, the Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems Inc., acquired Gaffney Medical Center in November 2014.
“We are excited about our future as a new health system,” said Joshua Self, chief executive officer at Gaffney Medical Center. “Working together we can better serve the health care needs of the broader region, increasing access to services, improving coordination of patient care and leveraging our investments in recruiting new physicians to the market.”
While the hospitals will continue to operate as two individual facilities, they will “share best clinical practices for quality care, achieve operational efficiencies, enable the expansion of important services and expand access to primary and specialty care,” according to a statement. The combined system has 332 licensed beds, more than 1400 employees and more than 400 physicians on medical staff.
“Aligning the names of our facilities and physician groups into a single identity makes it easier for the community to recognize our strengths and shared commitment to the communities we serve,” said Sean Dardeau, chief executive officer for Mary Black Memorial Hospital.
