Deal brings Children's Hospital of Philadelphia doctors to Virtua hospitals in South Jersey

In a deal notable for its geographic scope, Virtua Health announced a partnership Monday that will bring physicians with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to Virtua's campuses in Mount Holly and Voorhees.

Starting next Tuesday, Children's doctors will provide pediatric care at Virtua's inpatient, intensive-care, and emergency departments. Children's will also offer transport to its West Philadelphia campus for patients who need more specialized services.

The move means Virtua's patients will no longer have to choose between a community hospital and a national research and care hub like Children's. They will go where the care is most appropriate, experts said.

The deal also shows the influence of the massive health bill that passed last year and remains a flash point between the political parties. The bill calls for more regionalization so care can be more efficient, said Children's chief executive, Steven Altschuler. "Establishing a relationship with Virtua . . . with its ability to care for many patients in the community, I think, is very much part of that notion."

The deal is significant for Virtua, which has focused increasingly on treating women and children as it expands its suburban campuses. It is preparing to open a $463 million hospital in Voorhees this spring, largely focused on that mission.

"We're bringing the best of both worlds together," Virtua's chief executive, Rich Miller, said.

Such partnerships are becoming more common, said Alan Zuckerman, president of Philadelphia consulting firm Health Strategies & Solutions.

Community hospitals have a hard time providing "the breadth and depth" of care that families get at a designated children's hospital, he said. The partnership means that Virtua won't have to compete for patients with Children's.

Children's has been building a regional network of medical offices for more than a decade to ensure a steady stream of patients. The Virtua deal provides another reliable "core of activity," Zuckerman said. "It's a tremendous linkage for a children's center" like Children's.

Jeff Clancey, a chiropractor and parent from Haddonfield, spoke at the ceremony in support of the partnership.

He and his wife took their 3-year-old son, Mac, to Virtua's Voorhees campus last year when he was having a seizure. They considered going to Children's directly, but chose their local hospital because both of their sons had been delivered at Virtua and they felt most comfortable there, he said.

Mac was later transferred to Children's for care and found to have a rare disorder that caused his body to temporarily stop producing red blood cells. Clancey said parents often face the same choice that he and his wife did.

Because of the new partnership, "that decision is almost a moot point now," he said.

Children's Philadelphia campus is outfitted to serve the sickest patients, said Madeline Bell, the hospital's chief operating officer. Partnerships with community hospitals let Children's provide services more cheaply and closer to a family's home, she said.

Children's also has relationships in the Pennsylvania suburbs, including with Abington Memorial and Doylestown hospitals, but the Virtua connection will be the biggest, Altschuler said.

The goal, he said, is "providing the right care, by the right provider, in the right venue, at the right cost."

Officials from both hospitals would not say what Virtua will pay Children's for its services.

The two health systems tried a partnership in the 1990s that failed.

"I don't think it was the right time," Altschuler said.

Virtua, which formed when two hospital systems merged in 1998, has changed a lot since then. It closed its inpatient hospital in Camden in 2001 and has increased services in suburban centers. In addition to hospitals in Berlin, Marlton, Mount Holly, and Voorhees, the health system has several wellness centers. It also has one of the most profitable hospitals in New Jersey.

Virtua has become a leading provider of obstetric care in the area, with nearly 8,000 babies delivered each year.

The health system has had a relationship with Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington for several years and considered pursuing a stronger partnership there.

While duPont specialists will remain on staff, Virtua chose Children's "based upon our mutual vision for South Jersey" and acknowledging Children's "high-quality reputation, public preference, awareness, and proximity to our market," spokeswoman Peggy Leone said.

Miller said he hoped the contract between his hospital system and Children's could eventually expand to to let Virtua patients participate in the hospital's clinical trials.