Hospital ponders its future

For months and months, Jay County Hospital has stared at financial losses.

In the first quarter of the current fiscal year alone, its expenses have exceeded revenue by more than $2.3 million. Admissions, operating room procedures and office visits have all fallen well below projections.

The question is, how does the facility stop the financial bleeding?

To help find an answer, the board last month approved a partnership agreement with Quorum Health Resource and consultant Elizabeth Walker for strategic planning for the hospital’s future.

That process has already begun, with hospital CEO Dave Hyatt and Walker meeting with a variety of community leaders to discuss hospital priorities, strengths and weaknesses and benefits/barriers to partnering with other facilities. The group includes physicians, hospital leaders and volunteers, past board members, partner agencies such as Meridian Services, government leaders, public safety officials, members of the media and pastors.

The goal is to come up with a list of “must haves” and ideas of what Jay County Hospital should look like in the future.

“We’ve learned the community values and appreciates the quality of care and the culture that we have here at Jay County Hospital,” said Hyatt early Tuesday afternoon, with more meetings still on the calendar later that day and in the coming weeks. “And they know how important this organization is to our community.”

Hospital administration is not a cookie-cutter endeavor. Each community is different. Each has different wants and needs.

“What’s important in one place is not important in another,” said Walker, who works out of Indianapolis for Tennessee-based Quorum. “And so we need to be crystal clear as we set out on the process … about where we’re trying to go.”

That process is open ended, with the first steering committee meeting slated for Thursday. The group — the hospital board, four doctors, Jay County Commissioners president Doug Inman and Jay County Council president Jeanne Houchins — will review the information that has been gathered. And with Walker guiding the way they’ll work to set priorities.

The next step will be looking at the variety of options in front of them. Those range from remaining a stand-alone hospital to joint ventures to a merger to a sale, all with varying levels of shared resources and financial responsibility.

The goal is to avoid the worst-case scenario — hospital closure.

“Jay County Hospital is not alone in dealing with tough financial things. … Unfortunately, rural hospitals are closing at a rate of one a month,” said Walker. “The financial situation is self evident. There’s only so much cash in the checking account.

“My job in this process is to guide Jay County Hospital in finding an option, finding a way forward.”

The hospital board selected Walker and Quorum last month after sending out proposals to three national organizations. It interviewed two of those, and made its choice based primarily on the approach to financial difficulties.

The other company being considered was focused on getting the hospital its best possible deal on a sale.

Meanwhile, Quorum proposed a process focused on finding the best fit for Jay County Hospital.

Walker brings with her a legal and medical background, having graduated from the Indiana University School of Law as well as its master’s of health administration program. She started her career in consulting, served as vice president of Henry County Hospital and has been with Quorum for the last two years.

She visits about 150 hospitals per year throughout the country and has worked extensively in Indiana, beginning her career in St. Joseph County and also dealing with St. Vincent hospital’s network.

After next week’s initial steering committee meetings, the process will continue with regular board meetings, more interviews with local residents and additional steering committee meetings slated for March and April. The extent of the timeline will be up to the steering committee, based on when the group feels ready to make a recommendation on how to move forward.

The goal, Walker said, is to find the way that will most effectively allow Jay County Hospital to continue to achieve its mission — to promote health and wellness in the communities it serves while providing access to the highest quality, compassionate and trusted care.

“I look at this market and I look at the numbers and I know that this hospital is vital, and it needs to stay and grow to continue to meet the needs of this community,” said Walker. “It is really important that this hospital comes out with the best possible outcome.”