This is the second in an occasional series examining the Medical Center's transition into a regional healthcare system.
After a year of negotiations, the United Methodist Retirement Homes is close to becoming integrated into the Duke University Health System.
Sometime in early 1999, the UMRH will change its name to United Methodist Retirement Services, Inc., and become a subsidiary of DUHS. After the changeover, DUHS will appoint five members to the UMRS Board of Directors. The remaining 21 members will be appointed by the North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, which currently appoints all 26 directors.
This Board of Directors will then appoint operating officers to manage the company, said Dr. Reginold Ponder, president and chief executive officer of UMRH.
By merging with DUHS, "We believe we can enhance our quality of care," Ponder said. He added that they hope to offer day-care for employees' children and more spaces to lower-income retirees.
"This will be beneficial not only to the Health System but to the Medical Center," said Michael Israel, chief executive officer of Duke Hospital.
Israel said DUHS will determine within 60 to 75 days how much financial support the Health System will give to UMRS.
Israel added that it is unclear which party will have more control over the operations of UMRS, although DUHS will have final say over the arrangement.
He cited the Health System's lack of long-term care services as one reason for the acquisition.
"UMRH are leaders in the area of long-term care," he said. "We now have none of those [long-term care] facilities in the Health System."
The addition of UMRH will enhance the teaching and research endeavors of the Medical Center, Israel added. Medical students can now use the facility to learn how to work with older patients.
"From a teaching perspective, this allows researchers to have a group of individuals to keep data on," Israel said.
Currently, UMRH consists of four retirement communities in Durham, Lumberton, Greenville and Pinehurst. A fifth in Durham is under construction. Combined, the facilities have 867 living spaces. The unfinished development will add 500 units.
The living units are divided into three types: independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing beds.
Independent living spaces are for retirees who do not need the aid of health care providers. Assisted living provides recipients with the help they need to function, although these residents do not necessarily have chronic medical conditions. Skilled nursing beds are for patients with health problems that need daily medical attention.
Elton Winstead, a resident of UMRH, said he hopes Duke's involvement in the retirement community will be positive. Currently, he said, communication between UMRH administration and residents is inadequate.
"They don't provide accurate and timely info [to residents]," he said.
One resident of the community sits on the Board of Directors of UMRH but has no say in the decision-making process, Winstead added.
"People who are most concerned and affected have no vote," he said.
But Winstead added that he believes the UMRH board does have good intentions and that the Duke merger will provide UMRH with better services.
Current UMRH employees will become United Methodist Retirement Services employees at the time of merger; they will not be considered Duke employees.
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