Brown’s medical school and Lifespan strengthen agreement

PROVIDENCE – Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School and Lifespan, the nonprofit health care system, have announced three amendments to their affiliation agreement that “strengthen” their standing partnership, the university announced on Monday.

The new agreement will bring Lifespan and three of Brown University’s seven hospital teaching partners into “closer alignment” and position them to be more competitive nationally for research support.

The first amendment formally designates Rhode Island Hospital as the “principal teaching hospital” of the Alpert Medical School. The change aims to recognize the scope of teaching and research activities centered at Rhode Island Hospital and improve its position in the New England health care industry, Brown said.

Two other Lifespan hospitals, The Miriam Hospital and the Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital, will continue to be “major teaching affiliates.”

The second amendment provides for increased investment in academic medicine. The institutions will set up a specific fund for the recruitment of department chairs for the medical school and its affiliated hospitals.

The final amendment outlines a new affiliation committee that will support more coordinated joint strategic planning between the institutions and more fully integrate the clinical medical faculty into the academic side, Brown said.

“This affiliation agreement … highlights the critical importance of the synergistic relationship between medical schools and their principal teaching affiliates,” said Dr. Timothy Babineau, president and CEO of Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital. “With more renowned physicians and research dollars, we have better opportunities to move research from the laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside.”