Via Christi Health, one of the state’s largest health care providers, will take over management duties at Memorial Hospital in McPherson, officials announced today.
The management agreement is scheduled to become effective Jan. 1.
“Drawing upon Via Christi Health’s resources will help us provide additional health care services to McPherson and enhance our ability to retain patients here in our own community,” Marsha Silver, chair of the Memorial Hospital board, said in a prepared statement.
Via Christi Health will provides outreach services and help recruit additional medical staff, which will help retain patients and revenue in McPherson, said Memorial Hospital chief executive Jim Chromik.
Via Christi also will provide technology services to help Memorial Hospital meet the demands of health care reform, such as creating and managing electronic health records for patients, officials said.
“As we plan for our future, it is becoming increasingly difficult for hospitals our size to continue as stand-alone operations,” Chromik said. “Via Christi is an obvious choice to provide such services to us.”
Panelists at a the recent Kansas Hospital Association convention predicted the health reform law and the federal push for adoption of health information technology would spawn increased affiliation and partnerships among hospitals and doctor groups.
Last month, Via Christi announced it was acquiring the Wichita Clinic, which is one of the state’s largest doctor groups.
Chromik and Memorial’s vice president of finance, Cindy Brown, will become Via Christi Health employees. The local board of trustees will remain in place, officials said.
“Our philosophy is that health care is best delivered in a patient’s own community where the patient has the support of family and friends,” said Randy Peterson, Via Christi senior vice president. “We are pleased to be able to lend our expertise and our resources to help Memorial Hospital enhance its ability to serve McPherson.”
Mike McLaughlin, a Via Christi spokesman, said in an email to KHI News Service that this was the first management agreement the company has done with a community hospital in which it does not have an ownership stake.
“In terms of management agreements, this is the first one we have in which a local hospital board maintains 100 percent ownership of the hospital,” he said. “Via Christi Health provides management services to Mercy Regional Health Center in Manhattan, but we own 50 percent of Mercy. Mercy, in turn, owns 51 percent of Wamego City Hospital.
“Through our Outreach Services division, Via Christi Solutions, we provide various services to hospitals outside of our health system ranging from human resources consulting, to strategic planning, to various technologies,” McLaughlin said.
Memorial Hospital is a not-for-profit, 49 bed, acute-care facility.
Via Christi Health is affiliated with the Marian Health System and Ascension Health. It employs nearly 9,000 people. In fiscal year 2009, officials said, Via Christi provided more than $78.1 million in community benefit, including care for the poor, in the communities it serves in Kansas and northeast Oklahoma. Via Christi officials describe the company as the largest provider of health services in Kansas.