Southern Illinois Healthcare is joining a collaborative lead by the parent organization of Barnes Jewish Hospital.
SIH and BJC Healthcare announced the new partnership Tuesday morning in Carbondale. SIH CEO Rex Budde says they will remain an independent system with local governance and leadership, but will be able to take advantage of closer ties with BJC and the other members of the collaborative.
Budde says the collaboration will increase the access of quality care to SIH patients as well as provide the hospital with greater access to specialized care at Barnes-Jewish. Budde says the partnership will also provide more sharing of best practices and lower health care costs that will benefit SIH patients. Budde says the new collaboration will not affect SIH’s working relationships with the Prairie Heart Institute or the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
Southern Illinois Healthcare is the sixth collaborative member since the group was created in 2012. The other Illinois members are Memorial Health System of Springfield and Blessing Health System in Quincy.