WKSU News: Stover: Akron General would not have survived without the Cleveland Clinic merger

Tuesday, February 2, 2016 Stover: Akron General would not have survived without the Cleveland Clinic merger CEOs of the Clinic and Akron General talk about how the merger has been working out by WKSU's JEFF ST. CLAIR	Reporter / Host Jeff St. Clair

Toby Cosgrove and Tim Stover say the folding of Akron General into the Cleveland Clinic has worked because of shared missions.

Courtesy of JEFF ST.CLAIR

The leaders of the Cleveland Clinic and Akron General came together Tuesday to give a status report on the health of the now-combined systems.

WKSU’s Jeff St.Clair reports that both say last summer’s takeover has benefitted both organizations.

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Akron General CEO Tim Stover told the audience at the Akron Press cClub that without the cash infusion from the Cleveland Clinic, the century-old hospital would have gone under.

But, he says, money was not the only factor in his decision to merge.

“We had to find a partner, but in my mind, the partner was always about the clinical lift, it was not about the financial lift.”

The Cleveland Clinic purchased a minority share of Akron General for $100 million in 2014, and then last year completed the takeover.

The Clinic erased around $150 million in debt, is launching a $43 million expansion, and is providing a new electronic records system.

In return, Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove says the Clinic gains a solid foothold in the Akron market.

“And part of the reasons we wanted to grow was to bring the efficiencies together of the organizations and frankly to continue to look after patients from the Akron area.”

The Akron General merger was part of a record $390 billion spent last year in healthcare consolidations nationwide, according to industry analytsts.