Disruptors are making more noise in healthcare while hospitals continue to rebound from ongoing financial and workforce challenges, but diversification is one key strategy health systems are capitalizing on to compete in a rapidly changing landscape.
Diversification has been a key part of Brentwood, Tenn.-based Lifepoint Health's strategy as it continues to expand access to care and grow in the acute care, behavioral and inpatient rehabilitation spaces, according to CFO Aaron Lewis.
"The growth we've seen in our acute communities is at the core of our mission of making communities healthier. We understand the need to provide services locally, and we've been able to match the demand with creating access: recruiting physicians, bedside nurses and other providers," Mr. Lewis, who succeeded Michael Coggin as Lifepoint’s CFO this year, told Becker's. "Our growth has been really strong this year, and it boils down to creating access in our communities, for many of which we are the sole destination for care."
Partnerships are also a focal point for Lifepoint, which grew significantly after merging with Louisville, Ky.-based Kindred Healthcare in 2021.
"Partnerships are core to what we do and that has accelerated with the acquisition of Kindred Healthcare," Mr. Lewis said. "With the partnerships we have in rehabilitation and behavioral health, there is a really strong pipeline for us and a strong tailwind for future growth. We will continue to see growth within the rehab and behavioral parts of our business because of the conversations we're having with our partners and the need to provide more of these services across the country."
One other key way Lifepoint diversified its portfolio was by acquiring a majority ownership interest in behavioral health network Springstone in 2023. The transaction added 18 hospitals and 35 outpatient locations to the Lifepoint network.
"We're focused on growing our acute, rehab and behavioral footprints as well as advancing our infrastructure with our Oracle implementation and Lifepoint Business Services," he said. "That provides a strong foundation to continue down the path of diversification and create a resilient organization. But when you combine the partnership growth, opportunities in the pipeline, the demand-matching and creating access in our communities, there's a lot of infrastructure we're putting in place to create more growth into the future."
Lifepoint leaders are transforming the health system into one that is integrated in nature — but diversified holistically as a company — and zeroing in on how it can expand care delivery in the many local communities in which it operates.
"We have been identifying opportunities locally and focusing on how to be an expert provider in those communities,” Mr. Lewis said. "We've done the same thing in our acute communities by using data to understand which additional services we can bring to that community to keep people close to home."
For example, Lifepoint may not provide certain specialty services such as transplants in some communities because of the size, quality and scale of large hospitals or health systems already operating in a given community.
But it is the high-acuity provider of choice in many communities and continues to invest in the services it provides, according to Mr. Lewis.
"There has not been just one focus for us; we've really focused on all aspects of the business and have infrastructure to support care delivery at the bedside no matter the final destination — whether it's an outpatient clinic, a rehab hospital or an acute care facility," he said. "That has given us tailwinds for growth in all those areas, and we have not over indexed ourselves in one area versus another."
JVs such as Duke LifePoint Healthcare provide clinical, financial and operational support to community hospitals, and Lifepoint is continuing to form strategic partnerships with like-minded health systems.
Lifepoint and Ascension Saint Thomas are one of the latest examples of this type of JV, in which the two organizations will jointly own Highpoint Health, a three-hospital system owned by Lifepoint. The partnership will combine both systems' clinical expertise, best practices and providers to improve access to clinical programs and specialty care.
"It's not applicable in every market, but we know what it means to be a great partner and are humbled by the opportunity to be brought in as a partner. We don't take that lightly," Mr. Lewis said. "JVs and partnerships will continue to be one of the tenets of how we build the organization and continue to grow."