Massachusetts hospital system acquires medical center

For more than 30 years, UMass Memorial Health has collaborated with the Milford Regional Medical Center.

UMass Memorial Health has finalized a deal to acquire the Milford Regional Medical Center.

In fact, Milford Regional was the first hospital to form a clinical affiliation with UMass Memorial Health in 1991.

Now, Milford Regional is becoming a part of UMass Memorial in a move to preserve the facility’s future.

This week, UMass Memorial Health has finalized its affiliation with Milford Regional. The 148-bed hospital will be known as UMass Memorial Health – Milford Regional Medical Center. UMass Memorial is the largest health system in central Massachusetts, and with the deal the system now includes five hospitals.

UMass Memorial said the move will preserve Milford Regional as an acute care hospital with inpatient and outpatient services. UMass Memorial plans to invest in Milford’s facilities, equipment and other infrastructure.

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The systems announced plans to form a corporate affiliation in September 2023. At the time, Milford acknowledged growing financial pressures were driving the decision to become part of UMass Memorial.

“Given the current healthcare landscape, it has become increasingly challenging for Milford Regional to maintain its status as an independent community hospital without considering significant programmatic changes,” Milford said in a news release in September 2023. “Also, the lasting impacts of the pandemic and sustained financial losses have inhibited its ability to act on necessary growth and expansion.”

Eric Dickson, MD, president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health, hailed the addition of Milford to the system, which was finalized Oct. 1.

“We welcome Milford Regional caregivers to the UMass Memorial Health family and look forward to supporting Milford Regional as it advances its commitment to providing exceptional healthcare services to the greater Milford community,” Dickson said in a statement.

With the addition of Milford Regional’s 2,500 workers, UMass Memorial sees its workforce grow to 20,000.

Ed Kelly, president of Milford Regional, will retain his post, and he will join the UMass Memorial Health’s senior leadership team.

“This is the right time and UMass Memorial Health is the right partner to pave the path for our promising future,” Kelly said in a statement.

Over the years, UMass Memorial has bolstered Milford’s surgical programs and intensive care program, the systems said.

“Since first clinically partnering more than thirty years ago, our two organizations have realized much success through multiple points of patient-centered collaboration,” Dickson said in a statement. “Taking our longstanding partnership with Milford Regional to this next level allows UMass Memorial Health to meaningfully expand our continued work to provide high-quality, accessible, and affordable care to the communities of Central Massachusetts.”

Even with the merger complete, Milford will maintain its clinical relationships with other academic medical centers, such as Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital.

Eventually, UMass Memorial plans to integrate Milford Regional into the Epic electronic medical record system.

UMass Memorial said patients will maintain their relationship with their own physicians.

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