![]() ![]() ■Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton, Ill., will become part of Northwestern Medicine, a collaboration between Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. ■Wheaton Franciscan's three hospitals and physician practice in Iowa will become part of Mercy Health Network. "We wanted to transfer our corporate ministries while these ministries are healthy, fiscally sound, and have a strong sense of mission and values." "This decision came after a lengthy discernment process by the Sisters as we are aging and our numbers are getting smaller in the United States," Sister Pat Norton, chair of the sponsor member board for Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, said in a statement. In separate transactions, the Wheaton Franciscan Sisters also are transferring the other parts of their ministry. "They are one of the best in the business for putting best practices into local markets."Īscension also has a venture capital fund - Ascension Ventures - that manages $550 million. Louis, and they have been working on these clinical guidelines for years," Schwab said. "If you have two organizations, you don't need two of everything," said Ted Schwab, a managing director for Huron Consulting Group.Īt the same time, Wheaton Franciscan could benefit from Ascension's work to improve the quality of care and lessen the variation in care. Mary's and Wheaton Franciscan would continue to operate under separate names.īut the combination is likely to generate administrative efficiencies. No decision has been made on whether Columbia St. The combined system also could be in a better position to compete against Aurora Health Care, the state's largest health system, and Froedtert Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin in the Milwaukee area. Mary's and Wheaton Franciscan's operations in the Milwaukee area could give the combined health systems more leverage when negotiating contracts with health insurers. Roughly a dozen mergers - ranging from small rural hospitals to large health systems - have taken place in Wisconsin in the past three years.Ĭombining Columbia St. "It is just a different playing field now," Moroney said. ![]() That will require new skills, such as managing the care of high-cost patients with chronic diseases. The changes, still in the early stages, include moving away from the current "fee for service" system to one in which doctors and hospitals are paid a fixed amount to provide care to a set number of patients. ![]() The pending transfer is part of a wave of consolidation as health systems prepare for changes in how doctors and hospitals are paid. Wheaton Franciscan's operations in southeastern Wisconsin employ almost 11,000 people and had operating revenue of $1.3 billion in its fiscal year that ended June 30.Īscension had net income of $637.8 million on operating revenue of $20.5 billion in its fiscal year ended June 30. "We are getting to the point where the big systems are just getting bigger." "This gives them a huge footprint in the state of Wisconsin," said Linda Sauser Moroney, a health care lawyer with Drinker Biddle & Reath. With the addition of Wheaton Franciscan, Ascension - the country's largest nonprofit health system - will have 27 hospitals, including rehabilitation hospitals, along with more than 24,000 employees and $3.5 billion in operating revenue in Wisconsin. Mary's, which has three hospitals and other operations in the Milwaukee area, has been part of Ascension since that system's founding in 1999. Ministry Health Care, which has 14 hospitals in Wisconsin and one in eastern Minnesota, became part of Ascension in April 2013. The transfer is expected to close in the first three months of next year. ![]() Louis, and the Wheaton Franciscan Sisters announced Thursday they have signed a letter of intent to transfer Wheaton Franciscan's operations in the region to Ascension. Mary's and Ministry Health Care, in a move that continues the consolidation of the Catholic health systems in Wisconsin.Īscension, based in St. Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare's operations in southeastern Wisconsin will become part of Ascension Health, the parent of Columbia St. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |