A formal plan to share resources with the hospital in Petoskey will foster conversion to digital medical records, save money on purchases, and may eventually provide additional specialty services to patients at Mackinac Straits Hospital in St. Ignace and its affiliated clinics on Mackinac Island, Bois Blanc Island, and in Naubinway. The plan was announced this week by the participants.

Joining in the resource-sharing network will be Allied EMS, which operates ambulance services in the county, and the Beaver Island Rural Health Center.

In a competitive hospital environment, the collaboration will ensure continued specialty services from Northern Michigan Regional Hospital to the St. Ignace facility.

For the county, the collaboration will result in shared clinical technology, reduced cost of purchasing materials, and coordinated care without duplication of patient testing, according to Ron Mitchell, chairman of the Mackinac Straits Hospital board.

Using Northern Michigan Regional Hospital's Cerner Systems digitization of medical records and laboratory and radiology tests, physicians will be able to review vital patient information from remote locations, allowing specialists to monitor patient health. Having this information also will eliminate the need for duplicate tests when a patient is transferred from Mackinac County to Petoskey.

The system will also benefit ambulance service by standardizing procedures at all the facilities in the county with those the ambulance corps and the Petoskey hospital.

Much of the collaboration has been developed over the past several years and has led to an increase in patients returned to St. Ignace for recuperative care after surgery in Petoskey, and standardizing procedures that facilitate easier transfers and referrals.

The formal partnership, according to Mr. Mitchell, will maintain the independence of each organization while enhancing the sharing of high quality resources and practices that are not always attainable alone.