By HFT Staff

WellSpan Health and Evangelical Community Hospital have entered into a definitive agreement to enhance community-based healthcare across the region. Pending regulatory approval, Evangelical Community Hospital will become WellSpan Evangelical Community Hospital on or about July 1, 2024. Their accompanying network of care serving the Central Susquehanna Valley will also join WellSpan, expanding the combined reach of the organizations across 12 counties in Central Pennsylvania and Northern Maryland. 

Serving the Central Susquehanna Valley, Evangelical Community Hospital is the only Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) five-star rated hospital in the region. It employs 1,900 individuals and has more than 170 employed and non-employed physicians on staff at its hospital licensed to care for patients in its 131 licensed beds. The hospital provides a comprehensive array of services in both inpatient and outpatient settings and serves residents in Lycoming, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties. 

The affiliation joins Evangelical with WellSpan’s integrated healthcare delivery system, which includes more than 21,000 team members, 2,000 employed providers, 220 locations, and eight award-winning hospitals, including the region’s largest behavioral health network and a Level 1 Trauma Center. WellSpan currently serves residents in Adams, Cumberland, Lancaster, Lebanon, Franklin, and York counties in Pennsylvania and Frederick and Washington counties in Maryland. 

Combined, the organizations will serve more than 1.3 million patients across 12 counties. 

WellSpan’s value-based care approach has been successfully implemented through the dedicated focus of clinical service lines and the WellSpan Medical Group in partnership with the WellSpan Provider Network.  The affiliation will support advanced specialty care, including technology and innovations that revolutionize treatment. Shared digital health innovations and strong graduate medical education resources will expand access for the communities across the region.  

A separate philanthropic foundation will be created as a community pathway for hospital support, similar to WellSpan’s other hospital foundations.