Westchester Health Associates could join North Shore-LIJ

Westchester Health Associates, a regional medical group based in Katonah with a presence in Fairfield County, is negotiating terms of an agreement to join the North Shore-LIJ Health System, the two health care organizations recently announced.

A final agreement could be reached this fall by the parties, who signed a letter of intent to begin exclusive negotiations on a partnership between the Long Island-based health system and the medical group”™s 130 physicians and health care providers at 39 offices in Westchester County and Stamford.

The agreement would extend North Shore-LIJ”™s presence in northern Westchester County, where last year it became the parent organization of Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco.

Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow also joined the North Shore-LIJ Heath System last year.

“In addition to its many clinical specialists,” Dr. Thomas McGinn, chairman of medicine at North Shore-LIJ, said, “Westchester Health Associates has a large presence of primary care physicians in the northern suburbs, which will help build on the North Shore-LIJ”™s population health efforts to improve the coordination of care for our patients.”

Dr. Peter Mercurio, president and CEO of Westchester Health Associates, said the medical group aims to expand the reach of its ambulatory services in Westchester, western Connecticut  “and beyond” by joining the North Shore-LIJ Health System. The group practice has been designated a Level 3 Patient Centered Medical Home, the highest recognition for a medical group, by the National Committee for Quality Assurance Physician Practice Connections.

North Shore-LIJ recently announced it is changing its name to Northwell Health next January.