Safety-net hospitals to combine 3 Executive changes 7 PERIODICAL RATE PUBLICATION
MARCH 1, 2020 VOLUME 36, NUMBER 4
HSHS preserves rural health care through hospital acquisitions Catholic system invests in services, spiritual care, leader formation By JULIE MINDA
SHELBYVILLE, Ill. — About six years ago the board of the 18-bed, nonprofit Shelby Memorial Hospital here reached the difficult determination that to secure its future, the stand-alone hospital needed to join a larger health system. Although the hospital had maintained its independence for almost a century and was in fairly good shape financially, rising operating costs — especially those associated with complying with Medicaid and Medicare regulations — were a growing concern. The hospital board came to the conclusion that its overarching priority had to be keeping the doors open and retaining health services in the rural community. Hospital Sisters Health System emerged as the board’s clear preference among the six systems that expressed initial interest in acquiring the hospital. Headquartered in Springfield, Illinois, about 50 miles away,
Ascension moves to expand nonhospital and digital services CEO says a central focus is improving services for those who are poor or otherwise vulnerable By JULIE MINDA
Dan Elbert, maintenance supervisor at HSHS Good Shepherd Hospital in Shelbyville, Illinois, hangs a crucifix in the hospital.
Rural connection HSHS has four hospitals within a 60-mile radius of Shelbyville, including its
HSHS was a known entity. It had serviceline level partnerships with Shelby Memorial. It had opened specialty and primary care medical practices in Shelbyville.
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St. Louis clinic provides immigrants affordable mental health care By LISA EISENHAUER
Sid Hastings/©CHA
tices or salaries to slice off a ST. LOUIS — When it became chunk of time clear that the same populato donate. tion coming to Casa de Salud So, Koch set for medical care also needed up a new probetter access to mental health gram called the care, the nonprofit’s operaMental Health Koch tors tried to stick with the care Collaborative model that had made the clinic that tapped the existing clinic’s a success. resources and added incentives Under that model, clinifor mental health providers — cians volunteer their services carrots that weren’t needed on and patients pay a flat fee that the medical side. Like the medihelps cover the cost of running cal clinic, the collaborative prothe primary care clinic seven Sr. Michelle Salois, RSM, left, a clinical social worker, supervises therapistsvides back-office support, transdays a week. While the clinic in-training Katie Killeen and David Chism, as part of her work at the Mental lators and case management for accepts anyone as a patient, it Health Collaborative in midtown St. Louis. Sr. Salois and other therapists in the clients. Unlike the medical clinic, was established in 2010 with collaborative get free office space courtesy of the Casa de Salud medical clinic it offers therapists and counsela mission of providing health in return for providing care pro bono to immigrants in the St. Louis metro area. ors free office space for use with care to foreign-born residents all their clients. In return, the of the St. Louis region. willing to volunteer at the clinic. That effort care providers agree to reserve at least 25% Kate Koch, the clinic’s vice president came up short and Koch suspects it was of their caseload for referrals from Casa de and chief operating officer, later sought out largely because the clinicians she contacted Salud. Those clients pay on a sliding-fee mental health therapists and counselors weren’t making enough through their pracContinued on 8
Ascension is several years into its “dual transformation strategy” that involves strengthening its core health care operations while also investing in new models and methods to help grow the health system’s footprint and impact. Joseph Impicciche, who has headed Ascension’s 150-hospital system since July 2019, has said Ascension is moving away from being a hospital-centric company. He’s tasked Ascension’s next generation of leaders with finding new ways to meet the health needs of patients and comImpicciche munities in a service area that spans 20 states and Washington, D.C. Impicciche joined Ascension in 2004 as executive vice president and general counsel, became its president and chief operating officer early in 2019, and was elevated to president and chief executive last summer. He spoke to Catholic Health World about Ascension’s “mission-inspired transformation” and the challenges the system faces in today’s complex health care environment. What are your early impressions as chief executive of a sprawling system with over 2,600 care sites and 150,000 employees? As I’ve traveled across our ministry and I’ve spoken to our associates, I’m really Continued on 6
Avera hospital’s land contribution opens door to affordable housing Nathan Johnson/Avera Health
By DALE SINGER
Tom Clark, regional president of Avera Health and chief executive of Avera Queen of Peace Hospital, shares plans for a land donation the health organization will make to the City of Mitchell for an affordable housing project. He spoke at a press conference and stakeholder announcement held Jan. 9 at the Mitchell, South Dakota, hospital. Seated behind him are Mayor Bob Everson, left, and Mitchell Area Development Corp. Executive Director Mark Vaux.
The situation was this: Mitchell, South Dakota, had a problem supplying affordable housing for the middle-income workers its employers need. Avera Queen of Peace Hospital, an anchor of the city’s economy, owned an undeveloped tract of 21.7 acres just east of its main campus — land that it no longer needed because future growth would be in a more visible spot along nearby Interstate 90. As a member of the Mitchell Area Development Corp., Tom Clark, regional president of Avera Health and the hospital’s chief executive, was aware of the housing chal-
lenge but he hadn’t really connected it to the surplus land before. Then, the proverbial light bulb lit up. “It just popped,” Clark said. “It just kind of clicked. We’ve got this land that we’re not going to use, and there’s a need for affordable housing. I wonder if there’s a way for the two to come together. “It was just fortuitous timing. I truly believe it was a God thing,” he said.
It all adds up With a three-pronged partnership of the hospital, the city and the development corporation, the project came together quickly. The vision has Avera donating Continued on 6