Partnerships and acquisition opportunities seem to be a common tie between four hospital and heath system CEOs, even though they are from organizations of different sizes and scopes.
At the annual Becker's Hospital Review CEO Strategy Roundtable Nov. 14 in Chicago, four CEOs from hospitals and health systems of different sizes and types discussed their approach to staying independent during a panel moderated by Scott Becker, JD, CPA, partner at McGuireWoods and publisher of Becker's Hospital Review.
Panel participants were Lynn McVey, acting CEO and president of Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center in Secaucus, N.J.; Jose Sanchez, CEO of Norwegian American Hospital in Chicago; Donald Lovasz, president and CEO of KentuckyOne Health Partners in Louisville; and David DiLoreto, MD, president and CEO of Presence Health Partners and clinical operations and innovation officer at Presence Health in Chicago.
At Norwegian American Hospital, a community hospital in an economically challenging neighborhood of Chicago, Mr. Sanchez said he is in talks with potential partners. "Remaining independent will be extremely tough," he said. "We don't have access to capital…and don't have amenities that will bring a different payer mix." A large proportion of the hospital's patients are Medicaid beneficiaries.
However, he said the hospital is still focused on reducing costs and identifying opportunities for growth, like in outpatient services.
Ms. McVey also leads a community hospital, but in New Jersey. She said had a "hopeful" prognosis on her hospital's ability to stay independent. Most of the community's needs can be met at Meadowlands, she said, and for services not offered at the hospital, they have affiliations with organizations in New York City, which is not far. However, she did not rule out the possibility of a sale.
The panel participants at the larger systems of KentuckyOne and Presence also indicated they were looking for partners and collaborators.
Mr. Lovasz said KentuckyOne is certainly looking to expand through partnerships. "We're talking to others who voice interest, but being careful who we align with," he said. "Collaboration and partnershiping will absolutely be part of our plan." KentuckyOne is independent by 85 percent owned by Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives.
Presence Health was formed from the merger of Provena Health and Resurrection Health Care in November 2011. "Coming together crated sufficient scale," Dr. DiLoreto said, and it also preserved Catholic-based healthcare. However, Presence may be looking to grow even bigger. "It's a question of how big is big enough," Dr. DiLoreto said, mentioning that the system could be looking gain more critical mass in the market.
Overall, regardless of size or situation, each CEO expressed interest in exploring partnerships or even potential acquisitions during the panel.