ELMIRA AND ITHACA, N.Y. (WENY) -- A new era of healthcare is coming to the Southern Tier, Finger Lakes, and Central New York regions. Cayuga Health and Arnot Health have officially announced their merger into a single-parent company: Centralus Health. 

System leadership says the partnership will improve patient care by expanding access, integrating advanced technology, and enhancing resources across all nine counties of the Southern Tier.

The announcement was made during dual press events at Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca and Arnot Ogden Medical Center in Elmira. Leaders from both organizations called the merger a pivotal step toward advancing healthcare delivery in the region.

"We were proud to announce the launch of Centralus Health, which is the formal affiliation between Cayuga Health and Arnot Health, and that's bringing all of the organizations under those companies together in a unified way to provide outstanding patient care and improved access to care in our communities," said Dr. Martin Stallone, CEO of Cayuga Health and Centralus Health.

A key focus of this merger is the rollout of the Epic electronic health record system, which is set to launch in March 2025. Epic is a widely used system in healthcare, and this merger is expected to improve patient care while offering advanced tools like MyChart, a patient portal. 

"Many of our patients are familiar with that," says Jonathan Lawrence, President and CEO of Arnot Health. "Many of our providers and physicians are familiar with Epic and are looking forward to all the benefits that bring the transparency, the ease of continuity of care from one service site to another."

MyChart will create an opportunity for patients to manage appointments, access medical records, and communicate with healthcare providers more efficiently. 

One concern for current patients is how this change could affect their healthcare plan or insurance coverage. In the Tuesday, January 7th announcement Stallone reassured the community that there would be no changes or disruptions.

"Nothing's going to change. The organizations under Cayuga and Arnot Health continue to take all the same insurance that we did before. We do bring to the table different payer relationships, so we expect that we'll take the best from both systems as we approach relationships in that way. But nothing's going to change with respect to the regulated entities within Centralus Health," says Lawrence.

Centralus Health is aiming to do more than streamline care, they also are seeking the chance to make a significant contribution to the region's economy and workforce. Together, Cayuga Health and Arnot Health have already generated $1.5 billion in economic activity annually, support over 8,500 jobs, and provide care to nearly 1 million patients each year.

This includes:

  • 847,000 outpatient visits
  • 86,400 emergency department patients
  • 15,600 hospital admission
  • 1,800 babies delivered

While the immediate changes might not be noticeable to patients, officials emphasized that the exciting merger is a step toward improving healthcare access and quality in the Southern Tier and beyond.