Six months after announcing a merger of Upstate Medical University and Crouse Health, officials have publicly outlined how the merger of the two health care centers will take place.
During a public forum Monday evening, officials discusses the proposed merger and answered questions from the community.
Roberta Zeller has worked at Crouse for 18 years. And she had questions about what’s going to happen.
“I’m in the admitting department, and they have an admitting department, if we’re gonna combine, what’s gonna happen?” Zeller asked. “Because I’ve been there 18 years, I’m close to retirement and I want to retire at Crouse."
Kim Joyner has worked at Crouse for nearly 15 years. The discussion over merging the two hospitals has been stressful for her and other staffers. After Crouse and Upstate leaders emphasized during the meeting that there would be no job losses if the two entities combine, and that benefits would continue, she felt a bit better.
“A teeny bit, somewhat,” said Joyner. “It’s like they said, until the merger happens that’s when we’ll know the bottom line, but right now like they say, for now pretty much the same, and hopefully it will."
Hospital leaders painted the merger, which would give Upstate a 71% share of the Syracuse inpatient hospital market, as a win-win for both Crouse and Upstate. Crouse Board of Directors Chair Patrick Mannion said it has become increasingly difficult for a small hospital to survive, and the potential deal with Upstate, which Crouse initiated in 2020, is the best way to move forward.
“I don’t want to forecast what would happen if this doesn’t go through,” said Mannion. “What I will say, is our options if this does not go through are very limited, and the outcomes would be very different, I suspect, and certainly not as good for the community as this would be."
Upstate President Dr. Mantosh Dewan sees two major upsides to the collaboration for his institution, which is the major trauma hospital in the region, as well as a teaching facility.
“One is we want stability, and protect everyone who works here,” said Dewan. “And two, we hope we will build, open beds, decompress the ERs, and collaborate better."
At this point, leaders say services at each hospital will continue as they are, while state agencies continue looking at the deal. The SUNY Board of Trustees has the final vote, which Dewan expects to happen sometime next year.
After that the particulars of the merger will be decided. There are also several unions involved that will have a say on how the workforce is divided up. On the money end of things, Upstate won’t pay anything to buy Crouse, but will take on Crouse’s debt, using some of the almost $250 million in reserves it’s been saving up.
One thing that kept coming up at the hearing is the need to keep Crouse’s culture and identity intact. Kim Joyner, who works at Crouse, said it’s a special place.
“They can merge all they want. But just let us keep what we have, and we’ll be happy,” she said.
