[January 19, 2016]

Aria Health and Jefferson Sign Definitive Agreement

Aria (News - Alert) Health System and Jefferson have entered into a binding Definitive Agreement that spells out the terms of how Aria will integrate with Jefferson Health, the combined clinical entity formed by the merger of Abington and Jefferson in May 2015.

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With the Definitive Agreement in place, Aria and Jefferson will take the next steps toward finalizing the integration by seeking all necessary state and federal regulatory reviews. The transaction is anticipated to be complete in late spring 2016.

"Integrating Abington and now Aria, Jefferson is building a unique model combining a preeminent health system and a comprehensive university," said Stephen Klasko, M.D., MBA, president and CEO of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health. "Together, we are reimagining healthcare delivery, higher education and medical research in the Philadelphia region and beyond."

Kathleen Kinslow, president and CEO of Aria Health, said, "As we get to know our counterparts at Jefferson, we see more clearly every day that Aria and Jefferson are a great fit, with similar cultures in terms of service, quality and commitment to patients, physicians and employees. Our goal is to transform healthcare across the region for the benefit of patients, delivering the right care at the right time in the right place."

The boards of Aria and Jefferson unanimously approved the signing of the Definitive Agreement. The Definitive Agreement extends the shared governance model that was established with the integration of Abington and Jefferson. The agreement details that Aria will designate an equal number of members to the expanded Thomas Jefferson University board, and will have the same representation as Abington and Jefferson.

In addition, the Definitive Agreement outlines several clinical and operational commitments. Jefferson will fully support Aria's long-standing mission to serve its community and in its service area, Aria will be designated as a regional referral site and will be an epicenter for new program development as well as expansion of existing programs.

After the integration, inslow's role will be Executive Vice President, and President, Community Hospitals, Jefferson Health and CEO, Aria. The new designation of Community Hospitals includes the Aria and Abington hospitals.

The Definitive Agreement comes after Aria and Jefferson signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) in October. The LOI was the culmination of a two-year strategic planning and partnership exploration process at Aria.

"Everyone involved with the exploration process - from our board of directors and its steering committee that has provided oversight for this process to physician leaders and senior leadership at Aria - agreed that by joining forces with Jefferson, we could have the greatest impact on transforming healthcare across the region," Kinslow said.

In the meantime, nothing changes for patients and their families, employees and physicians at either organization, both of which will continue to focus on delivering excellent, safe, efficient care to our patients, every day. To learn more, visit AriaForward.org.

About Aria Health System

Aria Health is the leading healthcare provider in Northeast Philadelphia and Lower Bucks County. Aria's three acute care hospitals and growing network of outpatient centers and physicians uphold a long-standing tradition of providing advanced medicine and personal care to the region. With 485 licensed beds, Aria employs nearly 4,000 and has a medical staff membership of more than 1,000. To learn more, please visit us at ARIAHEALTH.org or call 1-877-808-ARIA (2742).

About Jefferson

Our newly formed organization, Jefferson, encompasses Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health, representing our academic and clinical entities. Together, the people of Jefferson, 19,000 strong, provide the highest-quality, compassionate clinical care for patients, educate the health professionals of tomorrow, and discover new treatments and therapies that will define the future of health care.

Jefferson Health comprises five hospitals, 16 outpatient and urgent care locations, as well as physician practices and everywhere we deliver care throughout the city and suburbs across Philadelphia, Montgomery and Bucks Counties in Pa., and Camden County in New Jersey. Together, these facilities serve nearly 73,000 inpatients, 239,000 emergency patients and 1.7 million outpatient visits annually. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is the largest freestanding academic medical center in Philadelphia. Abington Hospital is the largest community teaching hospital in Montgomery or Bucks counties. Other hospitals include Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience in Center City Philadelphia; Methodist Hospital in South Philadelphia; and Abington-Lansdale Hospital in Hatfield Township.

Thomas Jefferson University enrolls more than 3,800 future physicians, scientists, nurses and healthcare professionals in the Sidney Kimmel Medical College (SKMC), Jefferson Colleges of Biomedical Sciences, Health Professions, Nursing, Pharmacy, Population Health and is home of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center.

For more information and a complete listing of Jefferson services and locations, visit www.jefferson.edu.

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