The results of a survey completed by 1,500 of Beaumont Health's 5,000 physicians revealed a lack of confidence in the Southfield, Mich.-based system's leadership and concern about its proposed merger with Advocate Aurora Health, according to Crain's Detroit Business.
Crain's reported the results of the survey after the results were presented to Beaumont's board. The system confirmed this week that it is postponing a vote on the planned merger with Advocate Aurora until physician grievances are addressed.
The survey asked physicians to indicate whether they agreed or disagreed with several statements. Seventy-six percent of the physicians who answered the survey said they strongly or somewhat disagree with the statement "I have confidence in corporate leadership," while 13 percent said they strongly or somewhat agree and 11 percent said they neither agree nor disagree, according to Crain's.
Physicians were also asked about the proposed merger with Advocate Aurora, which has dual headquarters in Milwaukee and Downers Grove, Ill. According to Crain's, 70 percent of physicians said they strongly or somewhat disagree with the following statement: "The proposed merger with Advocate Aurora Health is likely to enhance our capacity to provide compassionate, extraordinary care." Nine percent of physicians said they somewhat or strongly agree with the statement and 21 percent said they neither agree nor disagree, according to the report.
In a statement to Becker's Hospital Review, Beaumont said it is working to address the physicians' concerns.
"Our physicians provided valuable input and feedback to us through the survey," the health system said. "We take our physicians' responses seriously and we have already started addressing many of their concerns. We know our talented and skilled physicians, nurses and staff have helped to make Beaumont the region's leading health system and they are also key to our future. Our caregivers truly live our mission of providing compassionate, extraordinary care, every day. We recognize the importance of having an open dialogue. That's why we continue to meet with numerous groups of physicians, nurses and staff to listen to them, address their concerns and work together with them to determine the best path forward for Beaumont."
Beaumont and Advocate Aurora signed a nonbinding letter of intent in June to create a health system spanning Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois. The merger would create a $17 billion system with 36 hospitals.