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Hillcrest System to End Hospital Pacts: Four Area Hospitals Are Affected, Including Wago- Ner Community Hospital.

Posted on: Friday, 10 March 2006, 09:00 CST

By Nicole Nascenzi, Tulsa World, Okla.

Mar. 10--WAGONER -- Hillcrest Healthcare System officials are planning to terminate the company's operating agreements with four area hospitals, including the Wagoner Community Hospital. Officials at the Wagoner hospital say they were notified Monday that Hillcrest wants to terminate its long-term operating lease agreement effec tive Aug. 31. Hillcrest also plans to end its relationship with the Cleveland Area Hospital, the Pawnee Municipal Hospital and the Bristow Medical Center, said Randy DuBois, CEO of regional hospitals for Hillcrest Healthcare System. A private Tulsa-based hospital management firm, Community Partners LLC, signed a nonbinding letter of intent Jan. 6 in which it agreed to examine the possibility of taking over the operating leases for the four rural hospitals. Community Partners is studying the plan and researching each of the hospitals, said Joe Gunn, chairman of the board for Community Partners. Gunn and several company executives, including his son and Chief Operating Officer Kevin Gunn, met Thursday with Wagoner community leaders and toured the area. The Wagoner hospital is owned by the Wagoner Hospital Trust Authority and was built in 1973, said Louise Easter, its interim CEO. The 100-bed hospital employs 170 people and has an annual payroll of $7.2 million. Joe Gunn said his six-year-old firm specializes in the management of smaller hospitals and runs the Guymon Memorial Hospital, the Craig General Hospital in Vinita and the Fairfax Memorial Hospital. Community Partners took over the operations of the Fairfax Memorial Hospital from Hillcrest in August 2004. Hillcrest Healthcare System, which includes Tulsa Regional Medical Center and Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa, was purchased by Nashville, Tenn.-based Ardent Health Services in August 2004. So far, Gunn said, he is impressed with the degree of community support for the Wagoner hospital. "Health care is a community activity," he said. DuBois said the lease terminations are part of a general restructuring that the health-care system began in late 2005. "This is part of our strategic planning on how to best position ourselves to be successful," he said. Gunn said he could not estimate how long it would take Community Partners to make a decision about taking over the lease agreements for the four hospitals, but he did say the company is looking at each hospital individually. If an agreement cannot be reached with Community Partners, Wagoner hospital officials will look elsewhere for an operator. "This isn't the only option," Easter said. Hillcrest plans to continue operating two other area hospitals -- the Henryetta Medical Center and the Cushing Regional Hospital. Ardent recently invested $7.6 million to upgrade and expand the Cushing facility, DuBois said. ------------ Nicole Nascenzi 581-8315 nicole.nascenzi@tulsaworld.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, Tulsa World, Okla.

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Source: Tulsa World

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