Hospital owners Vitals sign health care services agreement with Boston firm

Partners HealthCare International (PHI) of Boston, Massachusetts, and Vitals Global Healthcare of Malta have announced the signing of an agreement aimed at enhancing health care services and clinical education in Malta.

This announcement comes following the award of a service concession from the government of Malta to Vitals for the management and operation of Karin Grech Rehabilitation Hospital, Gozo General Hospital and St Luke's Hospital.

In collaboration with Vitals, PHI will focus on the development of clinical quality and patient safety standards, benchmarks and systems, and the development of structures and systems for post graduate medical education.

PHI is the global arm of Partners HealthCare, one of the leading integrated academic health care systems in the United States. PHI's founding members, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) are the two largest Harvard Medical School affiliated hospitals, and are consistently ranked in the top 10 on the U.S. News and World Report's list of Best Hospitals.  

"Our main objective is to help deliver the highest standard of health care to Maltese citizens. It is our goal to deliver the excellent, comprehensive services that will result in a better experience for patients, staff, family and friends. To that end, we are confident in the experience and expertise that PHI brings to this important project, and look forward to working together," Dr Ambrish Gupta, MD, chairman of the Vitals medical board said.

The joint effort between PHI and VGH will also be coordinated with Barts School of Medicine and Dentistry, a preeminent medical school located in the United Kingdom that is opening its first off-shore campus in Malta. 

"Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, a faculty of Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), is pleased to welcome the collaboration of Partners HealthCare International with VGH and the Government of Malta. The agreement between QMUL and the Government of Malta to develop a branch medical school in the country is even more exciting because not only will we be doing this in the newly expanded state-of-the-art clinical facilities VGH is planning to develop, but that we will also be working with an academic partner of the standing of Partners Healthcare International. We believe that this constellation of excellence will take the productivity and effectiveness of the clinical environment in Malta to a new level," said Professor Anthony N. Warrens, Dean at QMUL.

PHI leverages the vast knowledge available throughout the Partners HealthCare network which includes unmatched clinical expertise, leading research and education. "At PHI we continue to be approached by health care organizations and academic institutions around the world that possess greater expectations for quality health care for their local citizens," said PHI's President and CEO, Gilbert H. Mudge, MD. "PHI represents the full dimension of Partners HealthCare in the global market; we will mobilize the vast expertise that is available across the system to address this transformative project. To work with Barts and VGH in this collaboration brings unique partners to healthcare innovation."