Carilion Health System
Encyclopedia
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
-based not-for-profit health care organization. Carilion owns and operates eight hospitals in the western part of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. The company also operates primary care clinics, residency and fellowship programs, laboratories, health clubs, an aeromedical program, and sub-specialty medical practices.
Origins
Carilion originated with Roanoke Memorial HospitalCarilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital
Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital is a hospital in Roanoke, Virginia, USA. The hospital has 825 beds, and is part of Carilion Clinic.-Services:Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital's emergency department is a certified level I trauma center...
, founded in 1899 and located at the base of Mill Mountain
Mill Mountain Star
The Roanoke Star, also known as the Mill Mountain Star, is the world's largest freestanding illuminated man-made star, constructed in 1949 at the top of Mill Mountain in Roanoke, Virginia. It was the largest star ever assembled until the El Paso Star was completed in El Paso, Texas...
in southwest Roanoke. The hospital expanded into related health care services and the acquisition of other hospitals. Most prominent was the acquisition of the competing Community Hospital of Roanoke Valley in downtown Roanoke. The deal took several years to complete because of anti-trust concerns by the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
that two of the three major hospitals in the Roanoke Valley
Roanoke Valley
The Roanoke Valley in southwest Virginia is an area adjacent to and including the Roanoke River between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Appalachian Plateau to the west...
would now be under the same ownership. In the early 1990s, Roanoke Memorial adopted the name Carilion for its consolidated health care business. Carilion is the area's leading employer with more than 10,000 employees.
Carilion Clinic Reorganization
In 2006, Carilion's management warned that trends in the health care sector threatened to undermine the organization's financial position. In response, Carilion announced plans for a significant business reorganization that will change its emphasis from running hospitals to hiring more doctors in a larger number of medical specialties, with a primary goal of better coordination of patient care and an emphasis on medical education and research. There are no plans to sell its eight hospitals.The plan was developed after visits to the Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical practice and medical research group specializing in treating difficult patients . Patients are referred to Mayo Clinic from across the U.S. and the world, and it is known for innovative and effective treatments. Mayo Clinic is known for being at the top of...
and other similar organizations. As part of the reorganization plan, Carilion renamed itself Carilion Clinic. Some local doctors have expressed concern that their independence could be eliminated and that the scale of the reorganization, if it is not successful, could imperil the organization and the quality of health care in the Roanoke area and have formed the Coalition for Responsible Healthcare to express their concerns. The vision for moving Carilion toward the "Clinic" model was spearheaded by CEO Ed Murphy, who left Carilion in 2011 to work with a New York and London based firm in order to help develop ways to better manage and coordinate physicians and services provided by hospitals.
As part of the Carilion Clinic's plan to promote education and research, Carilion and Virginia Tech have partnered to establish the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and a small, research-oriented medical school
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
in Roanoke. The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine is scheduled to accept its first class in 2010. Carilion currently operates the Jefferson College of Health Sciences
Jefferson College of Health Sciences
Jefferson College of Health Sciences is an independent, private, coeducational, health sciences college located in Downtown Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.A....
which offers a master of science in Nursing, Physician Assistant, and Occupational Therapy. In addition, it has 13 associate and baccalaureate allied health care programs.
Biomedical Institute
In addition to traditional hospital-based services, Carilion has established the Carilion Biomedical Institute in Roanoke in association with Virginia Tech. The Institute is a business incubatorBusiness incubator
Business incubators are programs designed to accelerate the successful development of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources and services, developed and orchestrated by incubator management and offered both in the incubator and through its network of contacts...
designed to introduce advanced medical devices into the marketplace. A related goal is the development of a cluster
Business cluster
A business cluster is a geographic concentration of interconnected businesses, suppliers, and associated institutions in a particular field. Clusters are considered to increase the productivity with which companies can compete, nationally and globally. In urban studies, the term agglomeration is used...
of such firms in the Roanoke area. One such company is Luna Innovations
Luna Innovations
Luna Innovations Incorporated is a company that develops and manufactures products for the medical, telecommunications, energy and defense markets. It is headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia...
, which is partially owned by Carilion and has moved its corporate headquarters to the Institute's business park.