The Oder-Spree district is planning a comprehensive reorganization of its municipal companies in the health and care sector. In future, the district's ambulance service, its retirement homes and the Oder-Spree hospital in Beeskow with its supplementary services in the medical care center (MVZ) are to be brought together under the umbrella of GesundVerbund Oder-Spree GmbH.
By merging the administrative structures of the companies, centralized procurement and joint use of infrastructure, synergy effects and savings of several hundred thousand euros per year will be possible in the future. In addition, the main aim of the reorganization is to make the previously comparatively small companies more stable and resilient so that they are less susceptible to legal or other changes and staff shortages. With the new structure, the district also wants to counteract the shortage of specialists and the financial challenges in the healthcare sector. Citizens will benefit from coordinated care structures, shorter communication channels and therefore seamless care along the entire care chain.
The concept of the healthcare network, which has been further developed in recent months, was presented to the district committee on October 1. This marks the start of the consultation in the district council committees. A resolution is planned for the district council on 3 December.
District Administrator Frank Steffen explains: "By creating the Oder-Spree Health Network, we are ensuring the quality of the services on offer, increasing resilience and boosting efficiency. The aim is to ensure that the population continues to receive comprehensive and nationwide healthcare services in the future. With the association, we are also creating the structures to enable the district to become even more involved in the area of health and care in the future if required. In this way, the district is making its contribution to responding to the challenges in the healthcare sector."
The Oder-Spree district is currently a 100% shareholder in each of Rettungsdienst Oder-Spree GmbH, Oder-Spree-Krankenhaus GmbH and Seniorenheime im Landkreis Oder-Spree gGmbH. These companies will continue to exist as subsidiaries of GesundVerbund Oder-Spree GmbH.
The district of Oder-Spree will be the sole shareholder of the association and will therefore continue to have full control. A supervisory board will be formed for the healthcare association, in which members of the district council in particular will participate. The exact composition of the supervisory board will have to be agreed in the deliberations of the district council committees in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, the district is currently taking further steps to secure the Oder-Spree hospital in Beeskow. A proposal has been submitted to the district council for discussion and resolution, which involves increasing the company's capital reserves in 2026. This is intended to ensure the company's liquidity until the measures of the nationwide hospital reform take effect and put the financing of hospitals in Germany on a solid footing. In the current uncertain times, this is an important and clear signal in terms of securing municipal healthcare in the Oder-Spree district.