Also considering merger with southern Massachusetts hospital chain
By
Will Collette
South
County Hospital is a great hospital and it’s not just me saying that. Once
again, South County
came out tops
in the annual survey of hospitals conducted by Medicare for patient
satisfaction. We’ve come to expect that of them.
But
this year, not only was South County ranked best in Rhode Island, but the Number One
hospital among all 176 New England hospitals, compared to their 18th
place finish last year.
They
were also the only hospital to be given an “A” rating for safety.
In
general, Rhode Island hospitals improved greatly over last year. Four out of
the top ten slots went to RI hospitals including the surprise quantum leap by
Westerly Hospital which came in at #9 compared to their awful #121 ranking last
year[1].
They left their new parent company, Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, in the
dust. L&M was ranked #144 out of 176.
Maybe
that’s not important, given how much Westerly Hospital improved, despite their
poorly-rated parent company.
South County
Hospital
is the last of Rhode Island’s independent hospitals. It is the only hospital
left that hasn’t been folded into a chain or bought out by a larger and more
financially fit company.
Westerly sought a buyer because they were so deeply in
depth that without a savior, they would have closed. Other hospitals hooked up
to achieve economies of scale, recognizing that without financial muscle, they
were going to get beat up in today’s health care marketplace.
Southcoast runs three full
service hospitals in Fall River, New Bedford and Wareham, MA that employ 7,200
workers. It has annual revenues of over $800 million which is about eight times
more than South County.
South
County CEO Louis Giancola
told the North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce that the hospital was concerned
that its small size could result in being cut out of insurance networks. It
certainly means that South County doesn’t have a whole lot of leverage in
negotiating reimbursement rates.
“As the only independent hospital in the
state, we’re worried about getting cut out of [insurance] networks. We don’t
have a lot of leverage with the payers, so they make deals with the larger
systems. We’re vulnerable in general.”
If
South County links up with Southcoast, the result will be a billion dollar
health care network and that should help resolve the leverage issue.
South
County Hospital’s leadership is in a much better position than Westerly was
before its takeover by L&M Hospital. The L&M deal was a shotgun wedding
and everyone associated with Westerly – board, management, the workers’ unions
and the community – understood that it was either make the deal or die. Even
though – so far – the Westerly/L&M deal is working out, there were major
cutbacks and economies that cost a lot of jobs and services.
South
County is financially sound despite the stresses of the bad economy that not
only hurt their endowment, but also increased the amount of uncompensated care
the hospital provided to the growing number of uninsured and unemployed. They
can afford to take their time and negotiate a deal they can be proud of.
I
like to think that South County Hospital’s excellence is part of the legacy of
my old friend, the late Donald Ford, whom I met in the 1970s. Donald led the
hospital for many years and instilled in it his devotion to community service.
I hope that whatever comes out of its negotiations with Southcoast, it will be
a deal that would make Donald proud.
[1]
Miriam Hospital came in at #5. Newport was #6. Westerly at #9, Women &
Infants at #24, Roger Williams at #28, St. Joseph’s at #32, Pawtucket Memorial
at #49 and Rhode Island Hospital at #57. Patient satisfaction isn’t the only
factor when you consider that Massachusetts General came in at #71.