CONTACTS:
Peter Glagola
Director, Public Relations Riverside 
757-719-2103
peter.glagola@rivhs.com

Laura Rossacher 
Director, Public Affairs VCU Health
347-835-7775
lrossacher@vcu.edu

RICHMOND, Va. (Oct. 1, 2020) — Riverside Health System and VCU Health System finalized the purchase agreement for VCU Health System to acquire Riverside’s hospital and physician practices in the Northern Neck and upper Middle Peninsula region of Virginia, including Riverside Tappahannock Hospital, officials from both health systems announced today.

Pending review by the Virginia Office of the Attorney General, the hospital will officially become a part of the VCU Health System on January 1, 2021, and operate under the name VCU Health Tappahannock Hospital.

“Bringing all the benefits of academic health care from Richmond directly to the residents of the Northern Neck continues Riverside’s effort to fulfill its promise to the residents here — to bring the highest level of care possible as close to home as possible,” said Liz Martin, Riverside Tappahannock Hospital President. “We’ve long said we are committed to caring for others as we would care for those we love, and I am excited that our Northern Neck communities will continue to receive excellent care locally at the same time they have access to the continuity of services available through VCU Health System’s acclaimed medical center.”

Under the terms of the agreement, the hospital and several related services, including diagnostics, physical therapy, the Riverside physician practices in Tappahannock, Warsaw, Aylett and Callao, as well as MD Express in Tappahannock, will become part of VCU Health System.

“Combining our resources allows us to do more to improve the health and wellbeing of the Northern Neck community than either one of us could do independently,” said Melinda Hancock, chief administrative and financial officer for VCU Health System. “We look forward to becoming an integral part of the community, and offering patients access to more highly specialized care when they need it closer to home.”

The acquisition deepens the collaboration between the two high-performing organizations, combining the clinical expertise of a community-based hospital with the nationally-ranked programs of VCU Medical Center under the umbrella of VCU Health System. It builds on an existing partnership that Riverside Tappahannock Hospital and VCU Massey Cancer Center began in 2019 to enhance cancer care in the Northern Neck region.

“This is a historical milestone for Tappahannock and VCU,” said Dr. Arthur L. Kellermann, newly-appointed senior vice president for VCU Health Sciences and CEO of VCU Health System. “One reason I was drawn to VCU is its commitment to serve everyone across the Commonwealth to advance education,health and economic development. The signing of this agreement is entirely consistent with that commitment. I look forward to the great things we will do together for the Tappahannock community.”                                             

The following locations and services are part of the purchase agreement of Riverside’s medical services in the Northern Neck region: Riverside Tappahannock Hospital, Riverside Surgical Specialists Tappahannock, Riverside Gastroenterology Specialists Tappahannock, Riverside Urology Specialists, Riverside Northern Neck Bone & Joint, Riverside Pain Management Specialists, Riverside Physical Therapy – Mt Clement, Riverside Diagnostic Center – Mt Clement, Riverside Physical Therapy Warsaw, Riverside Tappahannock Emergency Physicians, Riverside Tappahannock Hospitalists, Riverside Tappahannock Cancer Care, Riverside Callao Medical Arts, Riverside King William Medical Center, Riverside Tappahannock Family Practice, Riverside Warsaw Medical Arts, and MD Express Urgent Care.

Both organizations are committed to a seamless transition for patients and team members. Riverside team members will transition employment to VCU Health System on July 1, 2021. Until then, they remain on the payroll of Riverside.

“It has been an honor to serve the Northern Neck community,” said Bill Downey, Riverside CEO. “Riverside Health System and VCU Health share the same values and commitment to improving the health of our communities by expanding access to quality care and providing leading-edge, compassionate and effective health care close to home. Having a Richmond-based affiliation will allow for an even better care continuum and care coordination for residents of the Northern Neck. We are excited about this new relationship and look forward to expanding our future relationship with VCU Health.”

About Riverside Health System

Riverside Health System is an integrated network touching 2 million lives annually. Serving Eastern Virginia since 1915, Riverside offers a variety of services and programs in the areas of prevention, primary care, diagnostics, neurosciences, oncology, orthopedics, aging-related services, rehabilitation, medical education, home care and hospice. Riverside currently operates five acute care hospitals and a behavioral health hospital, in addition to a physical rehabilitation hospital and Critical Illness Recovery Hospital in partnership with Select Medical. Riverside Medical Group has more than 650 providers across a broad spectrum of specialties in over 100 practices. Riverside Lifelong Health operates nine nursing home facilities and three vibrant continuing care retirement communities, wellness centers and strong Home Health and Hospice agencies. In addition to these health care services; Riverside operates the College of Health Careers and four medical residency programs. The company employs more than 9,500 team members and operates in an 8,000-square-mile service area throughout Eastern Virginia. For more information on Riverside, please visit www.riversideonline.com.

About VCU and VCU Health

Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located in downtown Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 30,000 students in 233 degree and certificate programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. Twenty-two of the programs are unique in Virginia, many of them crossing the disciplines of VCU’s 11 schools and three colleges. The VCU Health brand represents the VCU health sciences academic programs, the VCU Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Health System, which comprises VCU Medical Center (the only academic medical center in the region), Community Memorial Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, and MCV Physicians. The clinical enterprise includes a collaboration with Sheltering Arms Institute for physical rehabilitation services. For more, please visit www.vcu.edu and vcuhealth.org.