Baptist Health South Florida, Boca Raton Regional Hospital to Form 'Strategic Partnership'

The partnership would affiliate stand-alone Boca Regional with the 10-hospital Baptist system, which is a dominant health system in South Florida.

Miami-based Baptist Health South Florida and Boca Raton Regional Hospital have signed a letter of intent to pursue a strategic partnership, the two health systems said Monday in a joint media release.

Baptist Health South Florida CEO and President Brian Keeley said the two health systems are completing due diligence now, and expect to have a definitive agreement in place early next year to finalize the affiliation by next summer.

“Like Baptist Health, Boca Raton Regional Hospital is a top-ranked organization with a not-for-profit mission and commitment to providing high-quality compassionate care," Keeley said. "We are confident that the synergies between our organizations will allow us to better serve our communities and increase access to affordable, high quality care for our patients."

Boca Raton Regional Hospital is a 400-bed, tertiary medical center with more than 2,800 employees and more than 800 primary and specialty physicians on staff. The hospital began looking for a partner last year and in July announced that it would negotiate with Baptist Health out of 12 prospective partners.

"Our goal was to use our success in recent years to attract other providers and establish a partnership that would enhance our capabilities and mitigate the challenges of a stand-alone hospital in a complex and evolving healthcare industry," said Jerry Fedele, president and CEO of Boca Raton Regional.

Keeley said the partnership makes sense at a time when Baptist Health expands its regional footprint.

"As Baptist Health has grown in recent years to meet the needs of our communities, we have clearly defined our service area as being from Palm Beach County down to the Florida Keys," Keeley said. "Boca Raton Regional Hospital will be a strong complement to the services we offer at Bethesda Hospital East and Bethesda Hospital West, along with our outpatient centers in the area."

Christine E. Lynn, Boca Raton Regional Hospital Board Chair Christine E. Lynn said the partnership "will serve to secure both our goals and objectives and those of Baptist Health South Florida."

"We have now advanced closer to a most important evolution for our hospital, one that will accelerate and elevate our position as a preeminent academic regional referral medical center," Lynn said.

Baptist Health South Florida is the largest health system in the region, and includes 10 hospitals, more than 40 physician practices, 50 outpatient and urgent care centers, more than 19,500 employees and more than 3,000 affiliated physicians.