from staff
Aetna customers will be able to use two hospitals in the near future.
St. Vincent’s HealthCare and Aetna have signed a contract for St. Luke’s Hospital that will provide access to St. Luke’s for Aetna members when the hospital becomes part of St. Vincent’s HealthCare next year. St. Vincent’s officials said the contract, the first managed care contract signed for St. Luke’s for 2008, will include all of Aetna’s HMO, PPO and Medicare products.
“This is a very exciting day for the future of St. Luke’s Hospital,” said Michael Holmes, who will be the chief Operating Officer at St. Luke’s after the April 2008 transition. “We know that many people in the community are anxious to be able to use St. Luke’s Hospital but have been unable to because of managed care contracting issues.
“Conversations have begun with all of the managed care companies in the community to see if they will open up access to St. Luke’s for their enrollees and the community. And that’s great news for our community.”
Aetna officials agree.
“Aetna is pleased that St. Vincent’s will continue to be an important part of our Jacksonville network,” said Ruth Fricke, Aetna’s head of network operations for Florida. “This agreement enables us to continue offering our members access to a broad network of high-quality hospitals and physicians.”
The contract also includes the physicians of First Coast Primary Care, which has 19 locations across northeast Florida.
St. Vincent’s HealthCare will begin operating St. Luke’s Hospital in April 2008 after Mayo Clinic moves to its new facility on San Pablo Rd. As the oldest, private hospital in Jacksonville, St. Luke’s has served the community for nearly 135 years. When it becomes part of St. Vincent’s HealthCare, which was established 91 years ago, St. Luke’s will continue to provide a full range of inpatient, emergency and outpatient services on Jacksonville’s Southside.