NASHVILLE (AP) — Vanderbilt University Medical Center has partnered with three other nonprofit hospitals in Middle Tennessee with the aim of boosting medical services in suburban markets.

Affiliation agreements with Williamson Medical Center in Franklin, Maury Regional Medical Center in Columbia, and NorthCrest Medical Center in Springfield could lead to a joint approach in areas such as cancer treatment, cardiovascular services and perhaps medical office development.

Officials said Friday that specific services could vary by location.

Dennis E. Miller, CEO of the 185-bed Williamson Medical Center, told The Tennessean the agreement lets the facilities work as "partners instead of competitors."

Although there are no direct financial arrangements under the current affiliation agreements, the partners could share in profits from limited liability companies created to offer new programs.

The hospital also wants to expand its services, possibly diagnostic imaging and urgent care, to Brentwood and Spring Hill, which straddle Williamson and Maury counties, Miller said.

Josh Nemzoff, a consultant to nonprofit hospitals on mergers and acquisitions based in New Hope, Pa., sees such affiliations as a way for Vanderbilt to get more referrals of patients for their specialists to treat.

And the affiliated hospitals could use a relationship with a reputable player like Vanderbilt to attract more patients, he said.

A rapidly changing health care environment is spurring more affiliations and innovations from providers, said Dr. C. Wright Pinson, deputy vice chancellor for health affairs and chief executive of the Vanderbilt Health System.

"While creating stronger and deeper relationships ... this affiliation is representative of where relationships between community health care providers and (major medical centers) are headed," Pinson said.