After they signed a letter of intent to merge with Deaconess Health, the Jennie Stuart Health Board of Trustees hosted an informational meeting on Wednesday to spotlight why the merger is set to occur.
In September, the board announced that they signed a non-binding letter of intent to merge with Deaconess and have started a due diligence process to finalize any specific details of an agreement that would join the two health systems.
In response to the possible merger, a group called, ‘Save Jennie Stuart’ formed and is made up of former Jennie Stuart board members, hospital staff and elected officials. The group has expressed that they do not believe Deaconess is a good partner and believe the merger process has lacked transparency.
To start the meeting, Board Chair Leslie Carroll talked about why they are looking into the merger. While the hospital remains in stable financial health, Carroll says their current condition is not sustainable and claims many nonprofit community hospitals are facing challenges concerning inflation and labor pressures.
In 2023, the board launched a process to secure new investments including a new electronic health records system. Later in the year, Carroll says the board, with input from advisers, determined that exploring a fully integrated partnership was best for the hospital.
Hospital advisers issued confidential partnership outreach proposals to 18 healthcare systems and received multiple offers before the board unanimously agreed to move forward with Deaconess.
Carroll says they wanted to be proactive by partnering before the hospital started to financially suffer so that the board could negotiate from a position of strength. Carroll described Deaconess as a partner that will continue to build on Jennie Stuart’s legacy and will broaden healthcare in Hopkinsville.
Beyond healthcare, Carroll also says Deaconess is committed to supporting the Jennie Stuart Health Foundation and has agreed to invest significant funds to support community initiatives. If the merger occurs Deaconess will invest $5 million in the foundation.
Jennie Stuart Chief Financial Officer, Mark Laramee provided a deeper look into the hospital’s financial status. Within the past 13 fiscal years, Laramee says eight of those years ended in operating losses and says going forward independently will lead to more losses.
Laramee also shared that certain sectors of the hospital have been underfunded and if the hospital were to pay off its debt it would be left with around $30 million. Despite the challenges, the hospital is not at risk of closing.
Medical Staff President, Dr. Matthew Robinson talked about how the merger will help the hospital obtain a better electronic health records system. In 2022 the hospital switched to the system, Altera Digital Health and Robinson says the system has presented multiple struggles for staff.
Robinson says it’s their goal to get Epic Systems but it’s too expensive for the hospital. However, by partnering with Deaconess, Robinson says the hospital can get Epic up and running in six to nine months following the merger.
Concerning jobs, Board Vice Chair Hollis White says if an agreement is reached with Deaconess, they are committed to retaining all employees in good standing and will provide comparable or better pay and benefits.
Following the board’s presentation, they accepted questions from the audience. Some questions regarded matters that have yet to be outlined by an agreement between the two healthcare systems and could not be answered.
Some questions asked concerned Jennie Stuart’s close proximity to Baptist Health Deaconess in Madisonville and if Baptist will be prioritized. In 2020, Laramee shared that Deaconess partnered with a hospital in Henderson and since then the hospital has had an increase in patients and received more life flights.
If the merger happens, Laramee says Jennie Stuart will have more resources and could also see an increase in patients and life flights from across the region.
The board was also asked if the hospital will still have local control following the merger, and Carroll says they are still working on an agreement, and the board will have some members from Deaconess, but will mostly be made up of local members.
The board is set to vote on the agreement on December 2. Questions regarding the merger can be submitted at jenniestuarthealth.org.