BALTIMORE, Md. — The University of Maryland Medical System and the Board of Directors of Upper Chesapeake Health announced that the merger of UCH into UMMS has been completed. The two healthcare organizations began working together four years ago under a strategic affiliation agreement.
UCH includes two acute care not-for-profit hospitals – the 185-bed Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air, and the 89-bed Harford Memorial Hospital in Havre de Grace, both located in Harford County, Md. UCH will do business as University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health and UCH’s two hospitals will become University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center and University of Maryland Harford Memorial Hospital.
The Upper Chesapeake Health Foundation will continue to serve as an independent fundraising arm of UCH. The funds in the foundation will continue to be utilized to enhance healthcare in the Harford County community. Future fundraising will support UM UCMC, UM HMH, The Senator Bob Hooper House, The Kaufman Cancer Center and other initiatives that advance healthcare in Harford County.
Harford County is home to a growing population of 248,000 residents. In response to this growth and an aging population in the county, the strategic partnership between UCH and UMMS has brought an increase in specialty care to the region, making it possible for residents to stay local for much of their care. One example of this partnership is the Patricia D. and M. Scot Kaufman Cancer Center, which opened in October on the Upper Chesapeake Medical Center campus in Bel Air. The new cancer center is an affiliate of the National Cancer Institute-designated Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.
Healthcare reform at the national and state level is fundamentally changing how healthcare will be provided in the future with a significant focus on lowering cost, improving quality and delivering better long-term outcomes for patients and payers.
