LEWISBURG-The future of Evangelical Community Hospital as an independent hospital may be coming to an end, as the healthcare facility has announced that they will be partnering with WellSpan Health, which has a total of eight hospitals, including two specialty care facilities, in the south central part of the state and northern Maryland.

“With an aging population, rising costs, shrinking reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the commercial insurers, and increasing labor costs and just costs in general, continuing operations in that model is no longer sustainable,” said Kendra Aucker, president and CEO of Evangelical Community Hospital.

At a press conference Monday, it was revealed that Evangelical had sustained an operating loss of $2.5 million in 2022. That amount grew to $29 million last year which was offset by $10 million in non-operating income to bring it down to a $19 million loss.

WellSpan is expected to invest more than $100 million in Evangelical over the next three years. This investment has the potential to provide Evangelical with the opportunity to explore new technologies, new equipment, build and renovate existing facilities and potentially expand clinical services.

“This decision, while hard, is the right decision. Joining WellSpan represents the best path forward to continue meeting the health and wellness needs of the community well into the future,” Aucker said.

“Together, we will preserve a vibrant local healthcare system by partnering with an organization that has demonstrated a commitment to the communities it serves and keeping healthcare local. WellSpan shares our mission, is aligned with our culture and has an excellent reputation for patient centered care,” she added.

If the partnership is approved the local hospital system will become WellSpan Evangelical Community Hospital on or about July 1.

“As a larger health care system, joining WellSpan brings exciting opportunities for Evangelical- the ability to remain on the Epic platform and experience more consistent support, greater access to technology, the potential to expand clinical offerings to our community. access to Care Delivery innovations, and access to educational resources to build a pipeline of health care workers,” Aucker said.

Although she would not comment on whether there would be employee layoffs if the partnership is approved, she stressed that nothing will change until the regulatory review process, which could take at least four months, is completed.

“Nothing changes until we get through this process,” she said.

“At this point, we don’t know what will happen…we know that we have to do something, that you just can’t sustain the operation without having scale,” she said.

“However, things will change over time. This type of decision is made because things do need to change in order to continue delivering on our promise to the community. There will be some key changes after completing the regulatory review process, including the rebranding of the home hospital to WellSpan Evangelical Community Hospital and a thorough evaluation of business functions to focus on value and efficiency,” Aucker said.

Serving the Central Susquehanna Valley, Evangelical is the only Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) five-star rated hospital in the area. It has 1,900 employees and 131 beds. It provides both inpatients and outpatient services for residents in Lycoming, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties.

“When we embarked on our journey to reimagine healthcare at WellSpan, we committed to the strategic priority of innovation, while committing to keep healthcare local,” said Dr. Roxanna Gapstur, R.N., president and CEO of Wellspan Health.

“We’re excited to build on that commitment with the Evangelical team,” she added.

If the partnership moves forward, Wellspan Health will serve more than 1.3 million patients in 12 counties.

Timm Moyer, chair of Evangelical’s board of directors, echoed Aucker’s statement that although the decision to join another organization was hard, “the Board of Directors believes it is also the right one.”

“WellSpan shares our vision and our values,” Moyer said.

“They place a premium on their people, their patients and the communities they serve and as we know that’s been Evangelical’s focus for nearly 100 years,” he said.