Clinical cooperation with the Ammerland Hospital
The cooperation agreement concluded between the Westerstede Bundeswehr Hospital and the Ammerland Hospital is the first of its kind involving a Bundeswehr medical facility. The two hospitals jointly operate the Westerstede hospital center.
Since 1. July 2008, the Westerstede Bundeswehr Hospital and the Ammerland Hospital work side by side at the Westerstede hospital center. This cooperation model is unique in the Bundeswehr and includes cooperation in the medical field as well as in the non-medical sphere.
Areas of cooperation
Cooperation is most intensive in the fields of anesthesia, intensive medicine, surgery and reception. Staff working in these fields have a joint duty roster, for example. Apart from the fields mentioned above, the Bundeswehr Hospital may use various clinical resources of the Ammerland Hospital, such as its extended radiological services, angiography or various laboratory services.
There is a close cooperation in the non-medical field, too. For example, all facility management tasks (building repair and maintenance, technical building services, green space maintenance, waste management etc.) and food services are provided by Ammerland Hospital staff. This arrangement has considerable advantages for both hospitals.
Sharing the advantages while maintaining each hospital´s identity
The clinical cooperation agreement allows us to focus our resources, to improve coordination of medical services provided for the population and for military personnel, and to enhance the quality of both institutions by the mutual transfer of know-how. Yet, the legal, economic and organizational identity and independence of both facilities is maintained. As for medical services offered, both facilities supplement each other, which makes it possible for the Westerstede hospital center to provide an extended standard range of medical care for people living in the region and beyond.
