Deal is not quite ready

It will take a little longer than originally hoped for Jay County Hospital to work out an integration agreement with IU Health. But the Jan. 31 goal for the entire process to be complete is still intact, for now.

Jay County Hospital CEO Dave Hyatt said Friday afternoon that the new target is to have the integration agreement for the facility to become part of IU Health complete and available to the public this month. A public hearing would then be scheduled for late October or early November.

The two organizations had hoped to have details of the agreement worked out by early October. Hyatt said the delay has come not because of any major problems, but simply because there are so many details that need to be ironed out.

“I think we’re really close,” said Hyatt. “We’ve agreed on the big things. It’s just crossing off the little things now.

“When you go through a transaction like this, there are literally thousands of contracts that need to be reviewed. … That takes time.”

In the face of mounting financial losses — expenses outpaced revenue by nearly $8 million in fiscal year 2017 — Jay County Hospital’s board of directors on Aug. 24 approved a letter of intent to integrate with IU Health, which had approved the same letter earlier in the day.

The letter set up a basic framework for the integration, including IU assuming all hospital assets and liabilities and committing to invest $12 million in “integration activities and preliminary facility improvements.” Jay County Hospital would be governed by a new nine- or 11-member board, to include all current board members, for three years before falling under the umbrella of IU Health’s east central region board.

Since August, the organizations have been working to finalize the details of the integration agreement under that initial framework. That included meetings Friday morning, which will be followed by a conference call Wednesday.

“Things are going very well,” Hyatt said. “We’re still excited about what IU Health can bring to the table and how JCH can add value to IU Health. It’s just putting it all on paper that takes time.”

Once the agreement is in place, it will need to be approved by the hospital board, Jay County Council and Jay County Commissioners.

The goal is still to have the integration process completed by Jan. 31, Hyatt said, though that date could be moved back if there are further delays.