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In an historic move that will reshape the health-care landscape in the New York region, The New York Hospital and The Presbyterian Hospital, two of the nation's premier academic hospitals, announced today that they have received final government approvals for a full-asset merger, and have formed a single entity known as The New York and Presbyterian Hospital. This is the first full-asset merger of two world-class academic hospitals. It creates one of the largest and most comprehensive health-care facilities in the world and the largest in New York City, with 2,170 beds, 12,400 employees, and 1998 projections for $1.5 billion in revenues, 90,000 patient discharges, 900,000 ambulatory-care visits, and 120,000 emergency-pavilion visits. The Honorable Rudolph Giuliani, Mayor of the City of New York, said, "A century ago the City of New York was created by the merger of five great boroughs into one world-class city."

"Today, two world-class hospitals are merging to form the largest and most comprehensive health-care institution in the City, and one of the largest and best medical centers anywhere. Both The New York Hospital and The Presbyterian Hospital are dynamic symbols of New York City's leadership in patient care, research, and medical training. As The New York and Presbyterian Hospital, each will be able to share in the other's expertise and treatment technologies. This will mean better care and lower costs for patients. This important merger represents the adaptation of top-flight medical facilities to the new demands of the medical marketplace, and the continued leadership of New York City in the world of medicine. My warmest congratulations to all." Speaking about what this merger will mean for New Yorkers, Dr. David B. Skinner, Vice Chairman and CEO of The New York and Presbyterian Hospital, said, "We are combining the best practices of our hospitals and creating a new entity that will further improve the quality of health care delivered to our patients, enhance the availability of our clinical services to an expanded patient population, and lower the cost of these services through improved efficiencies."

Dr. William T. Speck, President and Chief Operating Officer, described the merger as a "voyage of opportunity." He said, "Presbyterian and New York Hospital chose to develop centers of excellence in different areas of medicine, so our coming together in a merger really does establish a completeness that's unparalleled."

The merger is a natural for a number of reasons. Both hospitals are known for providing advanced, tertiary care, and they each have centers of excellence reflecting this. Presbyterian has the nation's largest heart transplant program, an NIH-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, and a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center. The New York Hospital has the country's busiest Burn Center, a New York State-designated AIDS Center, and a Level 1 Adult Trauma Center. The merger makes The New York and Presbyterian Hospital one of only three medical centers in the United States with both Level 1 Adult and Pediatric Trauma Centers.

Four new centers of excellence are currently being developed at The New York and Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Speck points out that this "probably would not have been possible without the merger." They include a new $4 million Gamma Knife Center for the treatment of brain tumors, a comprehensive Liver Transplant Center, a Lung-Reduction Surgery Center for treatment of severe emphysema and bronchitis, and a comprehensive Spine Center.

The New York Hospital (founded in 1771) and The Presbyterian Hospital (founded in 1868) have been two of the nation's leading hospitals, with long and distinguished histories of service to the New York area. Their respective services complement rather than compete with each other because their campuses are located in different parts of Manhattan—The New York Hospital campus on the Upper East Side and The Presbyterian Hospital campus in Washington Heights in northern Manhattan. The New York Hospital has served patients from the lower part of Manhattan and many patients from Brooklyn and Queens. Presbyterian has drawn most of its patients from upper Manhattan, the Bronx, New Jersey, and the Hudson Valley.

In addition, the merged hospital will continue to have academic affiliations with two leading medical schools. The New York Hospital has been the principal teaching hospital of the Cornell University Medical College, and The Presbyterian Hospital has been the principal teaching hospital of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. The merger also formally establishes The New York and Presbyterian Hospital Care Network, which includes some 29 hospitals, as well as an additional 98 specialty institutions, long-term-care facilities, home-health agencies, satellite primary-care centers, physicians groups, and managed-care entities. Today, this Network serves more than 20 percent of the New York City population and has gross revenues of approximately $4 billion.

The New York Hospital and The Presbyterian Hospital announced their intent to merge a year and a half ago, in July 1996, and formed a common single parent board in November 1996. The Co-chairmen of the Board of Directors are Daniel B. Burke and John F. McGillicuddy. To date, merger benefits of greater than $25 million have been achieved in revenue enhancements and expense reductions.