READING, Pa. – The Berks Community Health Center is looking to merge with another regional healthcare provider.
The center announced it has entered an agreement to merge with Union Community Care, a Lancaster County-based group with offices in Lebanon and Chester counties.
“Community health centers are trying to respond to the growing demand for affordable, high-quality care,” said Union Community Care CEO Alisa Jones.
Jones says the changing healthcare environment led BCHC to propose the idea of merging.
“These conditions are creating new opportunities for mission-aligned organizations to work together to share knowledge and to strengthen community health for the future,” Jones said.
Jones says the proposed merger will benefit both organizations, giving them the ability to share practices and resources to give their patients the best care possible.
“We’re neighbors, so by doing things together, we can accomplish more than either of us can do alone,” said Jones.
Despite the potential internal changes, Jones says not much will change for their patients.
“What won’t change is the name. What won’t change is the great high-quality care at the current locations that Berks has in the city of Reading,” said Jones.
Jones says the merger still needs to be approved at the state and federal levels.
“When we think about the future of community health, when we think about the thousands of people in the county of Berks that need affordable, high-quality healthcare access, we have to continue to strive to do more,” Jones said.
All three BCHC locations will stay open, extending Union Community Care’s reach into a fourth county.
“What we hope is that patients actually are able to get more access once we are just one organization under the same umbrella,” Jones said.