WESTFIELD – Noble Hospital was officially given the green light to join Baystate Health Network this week.
The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission approved the purchase of Noble Hospital during its regular meeting in Boston June 10. That was one of the last steps in moving forward with Baystate’s acquisition of Noble, which means that Holyoke Medical Center is the only hospital in the area not affiliated with another health system.
Baystate Health Public Affairs Director Benjamin Craft said the approval was “a big step forward.”
“The process is not yet complete though. Noble is not part of Baystate Health right now, but we should complete that process over the next few weeks,” said Craft.
Noble Hospital is a 97-bed facility that has undergone upgrades to the building itself and its services in recent years. Among them are the addition of the comprehensive breast health center. While Noble is a small hospital, it offers some cutting edge technology rarely found in such a small system.
Dr. Ira Schmelkin, the head of the hospital’s gastroenterology department, has begun utilizing a technological breakthrough known as the PillCam Colon, a small capsule equipped with cameras, to perform more complete colonoscopies and to diagnose other digestive issues.
It is expected that with the acquisition by Baystate, more of these types of procedures will open up to Noble patients.
A potential merger was publicly announced in late winter.
“I believe the brightest future for Noble, our employees, our patients and our community lies in partnership with a high-quality and well-integrated academic health network such as Baystate Health,” said Ronald P. Bryant, president and CEO of Noble Health Network, which includes Noble Hospital, Noble Medical Group and Noble Visiting Nurse and Hospice. “We look forward to advancing our discussions to determine the best course forward for Noble and for our community.”
Bryant recognized that independent community hospitals like Noble face major challenges in the current healthcare environment.
“This potential new relationship would secure the viability of Westfield’s acute-care hospital and at the same time support our efforts to increase the coordination and value of the healthcare provided in our communities,” Bryant said when announcing discussions.
