Johnson Memorial Hospital and Athena Health Care Systems Take Next Steps Towards Formal Land Lease Agreement
Johnson Memorial Hospital and Athena Health Care Systems Take Next Steps Towards Formal Land Lease Agreement
Stafford Springs, CT. (July 29, 2022) – Johnson Memorial Hospital is pleased to announce it has signed a joint Letter of Intent with Athena Health Care Systems, bringing the two systems closer toward carrying out plans to create on-campus expansions of senior care services, assisted living, and senior housing. Athena Health Care Systems currently operates Evergreen Health Care Center located on the Johnson Memorial campus.
“Access to facilities such as long-term care, assisted living, and senior housing options is in great need in the Town of Stafford and surrounding communities,” said Stu Rosenberg, President, Johnson Memorial Hospital. “We are honored to have the opportunity to work with Athena to fulfill this growing need for the local, aging population and proud to work collaboratively towards serving as a healing presence to the residents of the greater Stafford region.”
With the Letter of Intent signed, the two health systems will now work to finalize terms and conditions of the land lease agreement, establish a timeline for formally identifying acreage for each of the new planned facilities, and proceed with the appropriate steps in the regulatory approval process.
“The Athena and Evergreen teams are excited to grow the Stafford Springs healthcare campus to include new and needed services to our seniors,” stated Larry Santilli, Athena’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This unique endeavor between Johnson Memorial and Athena will become a model for other providers to emulate down the road as our aging population continues to require an evolving approach to care.”
The agreement with Athena Health Care Systems comes after Johnson Memorial’s recent announcement of plans to transform its hospital-based services to meet the current and future needs of the local community more effectively. Locally, in the communities served by Johnson Memorial, the aging population is growing and is expected to increase by 16% over the next five years. In addition to the agreement with Athena, the hospital is focusing its investments on caring for senior and the aging population, including its newly constructed, $6.3M Geriatric Wellness Pavilion (housing 15 inpatient beds), which is set to complement the existing adult inpatient psychiatric unit.
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About Johnson Memorial Hospital
Johnson Memorial Hospital and Home & Community Health Services provide a continuum of health care services to those living and working in north central Connecticut and western Massachusetts. In 2016, Johnson Memorial Hospital and Home & Community Health Services became part of Trinity Health Of New England, an integrated health care delivery system that is a member of Trinity Health, Livonia, Michigan, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation serving communities in 22 states. The 92-bed hospital and home health and hospice agency have been anchor institutions in north central Connecticut for more than 100 years. Visit jmmc.org for more information and follow us on Facebook @JohnsonMemorialHospCT and Twitter @JohnsonMemorial.
About Athena Health Care Systems
Athena Health Care Systems, based in Farmington, Connecticut has been a regional leader in providing a continuum of healthcare services to Southern New England residents since 1984. Athena provides skilled nursing care and short-term, post-hospital rehabilitation, and outpatient therapy in their 46 health care centers, in addition to managing three assisted and senior living residences, as well as four home health and hospice care agencies, and a private duty care at home program. Consistently ranked in the top 25 largest nursing home operators in the United States, Athena employs more than 9,000 employees throughout its continuum of care, touching the lives of tens of thousands of patients, residents, and family members each year.