The University of Louisville (Ky.) plans to hire nearly 400 physicians and nurses to fill staffing needs at former KentuckyOne properties in Louisville, Louisville Courier Journal reports.
The university acquired Louisville-based KentuckyOne Health from Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health on Nov. 1. The deal, which included Jewish Hospital, Sts. Mary and Elizabeth Hospital, Our Lady of Peace, and Jewish Hospital Shelbyville, culminated two years of uncertainty about the future of KentuckyOne's hospitals and other assets. It was viewed as risky because Jewish Hospital and other facilities need significant improvements.
Ahead of the deal, physicians and nurses left KentuckyOne amid questions about the future of Jewish and the other facilities, U of L Health CEO Tom Miller told the Journal, which cited his comments at recent meetings. Many weren't replaced. Now, the university intends to hire 290 nurses and 98 physicians to restore staffing, Mr. Miller said.
Mr. Miller said the hiring effort is intended to improve local access to care, allowing Mary and Elizabeth and Jewish Hospital Shelbyville to handle more patients instead of sending them downtown to Jewish.
With the nearly 400 more workers, the number of nursing jobs at the health system will rise above 5,000.
Read the full Journal article here.