Cincinnati hospital’s restructuring will create uncommon doctor-hospital venture

Cincinnati-based Deaconess Hospital will become a joint venture with physicians, the only general, acute-care hospital in Ohio with such a structure. Doctors will hold 40% of the institution, and Deaconess Associations Inc., its current parent organization, will hold 60%. The 273-bed facility's new name likely will be the Doctors' Hospital at Deaconess. The arrangement will likely appeal to doctors who feel left out in a market where primary-care physicians are increasingly becoming employed by large health systems.