By Tim Bonfield
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Middletown Regional Hospital announced Thursday its intent to join a Dayton-based hospital system in a move that could speed up plans to rebuild and expand the 87-year-old institution.

The plan calls for Middletown Regional Health System, the hospital's parent company, to join Premier Health Partners, which operates Miami Valley and Good Samaritan hospitals in Dayton.

The agreement, to be made final by mid-summer, would end an era of independence for Middletown Regional while giving the Dayton hospital group new access to fast-growing areas between Cincinnati and Dayton.

"Ultimately - and most importantly - it will mean a more-rapid implementation of our vision for a new, 21st century hospital," said Douglas McNeill, president and chief executive of Middletown Regional.

Middletown Regional plans to build a $125 million medical complex east of the Interstate 75/Ohio 122 interchange.

Groundbreaking is planned for early 2005.

Joining with the Dayton hospital group will make it easier to pay for the project, officials said.

Middletown talked to several hospital systems before making its decision. Officials said they chose the Premier group in part because it was willing to agree to a partnership rather than a sale or merger.

Regardless, staying independent wasn't a realistic option.

"Independence isn't necessarily a badge of honor in health care. Sometimes it's a badge of extinction," said Larry James, chief marketing officer for Middletown Regional.

It remains too early to speculate on how the change will affect jobs at one of Middletown's largest employers. The hospital employs more than 1,000 people, according to the Greater Cincinnati Health Council.

In Cincinnati, hospital partnerships formed in the mid-1990s led to extensive consolidations of administrative functions, such as billing and purchasing departments. But in Middletown, some say the change might result in an overall increase in employment.

"We're not thinking of anything but growth," James said.

It also remains too early to speculate on how patients might be affected by the deal.

For open-heart surgery and other specialty services, some doctors in northern Butler and Warren counties refer patients to Cincinnati hospitals. Others prefer sending people to Dayton.

Because the doctors do not work for the hospitals, it will be up to them to decide how to adjust to the new arrangement. However, with its expanded campus, Middletown Regional's ultimate goal is to reduce the need to send patients anywhere else, James said.

Premier Health Partners was formed in 1995. It includes the two hospitals, an outpatient treatment center, a long-term care business, a home-health agency. In Springboro, the system has a medical office, kidney dialysis and physical therapy services.

Middletown Regional, founded in 1917, also has a home-health agency, a senior care center and a pharmacy service.

"Having Middletown as a partner in this fast-growing area is a good fit with Premier's continued commitment to communities throughout our nine-county service area," said Thomas Breitenbach, president and chief executive of Premier Health Partners.

E-mail tbonfield@enquirer.com