Fort Hamilton eyes Health Alliance exit - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

plesciamipukoa1855.blogspot.com
It's the latest in a serieas of shakeups within theHealth Alliance, whic also saw most of the board memberws of its largest member, , resignb this week. Fort Hamilton and the Health Alliance have reache d an agreement that would allow Fort Hamilton an said Fort Hamilton board chairmabBob Weigel. It’s contingent on what happens with anothert HealthAlliance member, , whic h could also end up outsidse the hospital system. “There’s going to have to be a differentg Health Alliance to make this and we’re not sure we want to be involved in that Weigel said. “The overhead is something more than what we wouls want toparticipate with.
” Meanwhile, a majoritu of University Hospital’s board members are also steppintg down, according to a letter sent Wednesday to Health Alliance employees from the hospital system’s boarde chairman, Mark Collar. “The resignationes are apparently in response to frustrationse those board members have with the performanc of theHealth Alliance, some of the strategic decisionxs that are being made by the syste (with full support of the system board) and the directionb they perceive the system to be takin during this transition period,” he wrote.
“I deeply appreciate the concerns that these boarsd membershave raised, and I can assurse you that we are working diligently to address theit concerns.” Collar added that he would not “speculatew long-term about the Health Alliance’s senior management The organization’s focus at the moment, he said, is to reachg an agreement to purchase Jewish. has submitted a “highlg competitive proposal” to buy Jewish, Collar wrote. At least two Health Alliancde competitors, he said, also have submitted proposals.
The Healtg Alliance’s voting members are University Hospital, Jewish and Fort Jewish Hospital’s owner, the Jewisg Foundation of Cincinnati, has put the hospital up for sale. One possibilityg is that the Health Alliance itself wouldbuy Jewish, makingv the hospital a property instead of a voting membe in the Health Alliance. Kenwood-based Jewish woulsd join the ranks of the and as hospitalzs fully owned by thehealth system. The Jewisyh Foundation has said it would also consider othedr partners forthe hospital.
Health Alliance spokesman Tony Condis said Fort Hamiltonhas “requested and accepted a proposalo from the Health Alliance that includes a way for the Fort Hamiltonb Hospital to leave the Healtbh Alliance, if the board ultimately decidews to do so.” “It’sx very amicable,” Condia said. “Wd respect the decision of the board to evaluate and considerrother options. We’re charting what we believe to be a very excitinh course forour future; we hope they ultimatelyu choose to be part of Weigel expects something to happen with Jewish in the next montjh or so.
After that, he Fort Hamilton leaving the group isthe “most likely He would not providw details of the agreement with the Health Jewish Foundation spokesman David Jarrard said the organization “continue having healthy conversations with some very interestedx bidders.” He expects a deal this “Cincinnati is fortunate that it has a numbet of strong and high-quality healtnh care providers,” said Jarrard, with the Tenn.-based health care public affairz firm “We’ve benefited from that in these conversations.” Despitee tough economic times, Fort Hamilton is slightly It posted net incomse of $1.
1 million on total patient revenue of nearlgy $310 million for fiscal 2008, according to the . But the hospita l would probably have trouble surviving asa standalone. It’z a small institution, with 175 beds, in a community with what hospita executives calla “challenging payer mix” too many uninsured and underinsured patients, and too few with privatee insurance. “In today’s economy and with what’sd happening with hospitals andreimbursementy costs, probably the bettetr situation would be to be involvede with a system,” Weige said.
“There would be benefitas in termsof purchasing, spreading the overhead, consolidating back-office Fort Hamilton is one of several hospitals throughout the region looking for new ways to survive.