Stanford Report, February 8, 2006

Hospitals conclude talks of establishing joint venture

After extensive deliberations over the past 10 months, officials from Good Samaritan Hospital and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital announced Feb. 1 that they have discontinued talks regarding a potential joint venture to develop a children's hospital at Good Samaritan.

The two organizations failed to reach agreement on key terms of future operation that would meet each organization's requirements. Both hospitals will continue to explore potential partnerships to enhance the pediatric care available to the children of San Jose.

"Good Samaritan Hospital has a long history of providing excellent care in San Jose," said Christopher G. Dawes, president and chief executive officer of Packard Children's. "There's disappointment that this opportunity did not become a reality, but we remain committed to providing outstanding pediatric and obstetric care to children and expectant mothers in our region."

William K. Piché, chief executive officer at Good Samaritan, agreed. "Packard Children's is one of the leading children's hospitals in the nation. Although we were unable to reach agreement on this joint venture, we expect there will be future opportunities to work together to enhance pediatric services in the Silicon Valley."

Packard Children's had previously been discussing a joint venture with Valley Medical Center, but those talks wound down in 2004.

Opened in 1965 as a general acute care hospital, Good Samaritan is the fourth largest hospital in Silicon Valley. Packard Children's, which is ranked as one of the nation's top 10 pediatric hospitals by US News & World Report, is a 264-bed hospital at Stanford devoted to the care of children and expectant mothers.