MIKE REUTHER/Sun-Gazette UPMC Susquehanna President Steven P. Johnson speaks to the Williamsport Rotary on Monday.

With health care changing and calling for different strategies toward taking care of patients and serving the community, the creation of UPMC Susquehanna became inevitable.

UPMC Susquehanna President Steven P. Johnson outlined the reasons behind the affiliation merging UPMC and Susquehanna Health at the Williamsport Rotary meeting Monday.

Johnson briefly recounted the long decision process, how Susquehanna officials chose UPMC from among 37 hospitals or health systems to form the partnership.

As the list was slowly whittled down, it became apparent that UPMC was the right fit.

“What’s the big deal about UPMC?” he said.

For one, Johnson said, UPMC is one of the largest health systems in the world with some $14 billion in operations. In addition to having as part of its family a number of Pittsburgh-area hospitals, it has in recent years expanded its hospital network also to Erie and Altoona.

Johnson said Susquehanna officials were attracted by UPMC’s potential to recruit physicians and to help the local hospitals expand medical services, for its innovation center allowing partnership with other companies, and its health insurance plan.

The UPMC insurer, he noted, has 3 million members.

“They provide health insurance across the entire continuum of care,” he said.

Plus, Johnson noted, its coverage been rated No. 1 in quality and patient satisfaction.

Johnson said he couldn’t guarantee that introducing another insurer to Susquehanna UPMC will bring about an overall reduction in health insurance costs.

“(But) we think there is considerable potential for that,” he said.

Johnson said Susquehanna UPMC will retain much of its local control.

“Title to properties will remain locally,” he said. “The local board still has independent local fiduciary autonomy.”

Johnson noted the affliliation included a major investment locally by UPMC.

“They retired our debt of $215 million,” he added.

Johnson said the decision to affiliate involved several factors, including the aging area Baby Boomer population, which increasingly will be in need of health care.

What’s more, many seniors are covered through Medicare, which is reimbursed at just 85 cents to the dollar.

Johnson also pointed to the growing physician shortage, especially in rural areas such as northcentral Pennsylvania.

UPMC will help to grow the employment base and retain the faith-based health care that long has been part of Susquehanna, Johnson said.