Hospital's adviser takes pointed questions at partnership forum

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The person who took the majority of questions and the brunt of frustration at a forum to discuss a hospital's future wasn't on the agenda.

Monday evening's forum to discuss a potential partnership between Perry County Memorial Hospital and one of two health care organizations -- SoutheastHEALTH of Cape Girardeau or Mercy of St. Louis -- drew a crowd of several dozen interested area residents. Many of them had pointed questions about the hospital's potential partnership process to date, which has been done behind closed doors with little public involvement, according to Perry County, Missouri, business leaders and those who have attended meetings on the issue.

The hospital's "system" board, an appointed group of five people, sought information from the health care organizations last year and has reportedly recommended one of the groups to the hospital's five-member publicly elected board. The hospital's chief executive officer, Chris Wibbenmeyer, declined to reveal what that recommendation was, but some in the business community believe the hospital is gearing up to partner with Mercy, which would disrupt existing network relationships with SoutheastHEALTH.

At the forum, Ken Bateman, chief executive officer of SoutheastHEALTH, explained the system's proposal, contending SoutheastHEALTH would be the best partner for the hospital because it could continue relationships, keep costs low and support a nursing school in the community. Mercy officials did not attend, sending a statement instead.

And so, when the assembled crowd had questions about the hospital's future, they turned to Wibbenmeyer, who turned to the hospital's newly hired consultant -- Joe Lupica, chairman of Newpoint Healthcare Advisors. For 20 minutes, Lupica answered pointed and, at times, heated questions, mostly focusing on three areas.

• Why does the hospital system need a consulting firm and what is the group's role?

"We have met with more than a dozen folks. I encourage you to come in and talk with us," Lupica said. "We are trying to meet with as many people as we can."

He said the group's goal will be to build consensus for a partnership decision on an important community asset.

"It's not a slab of real estate. I'm glad you realize that. It's too valuable to be that," he explained. "A hospital is an organism. It is part of an ecosystem that takes care of people. It's a really important part of the social fabric."

• Has a decision about a partner already been made? Where in the process are hospital officials?

"No decision has been made," Lupica said. "There is no decision until the elected board of trustees says, 'OK, we agree.'"

He told the crowd no die has been cast.

"People are getting kind of nervous because they feel like there is a train that has left the station. There is no train leaving the station that I know of," he commented. "Part of the reason they wanted us here is so that we could take a look at the process and validate what has been going on."

• Why are these decisions being made behind closed doors?

The overriding dissatisfaction of those attending the forum is what several termed a "lack of transparency" in the process. Lupica contended the hospital's governance includes layers of fail-safes.

"At this letter-of-intent stage, the elected board has the authority. The system board, the operating board, the one closest to the hospital can only recommend," he declared. "There is a lot of checks and balances around here that y'all have. I don't know what kind of history there was here, but this was the most controlled situation I've seen. You have a lot of safety. It's impossible for a cabal to take this thing over."

Further, Lupica contended haggling over contractual issues in public would weaken the hospital's bargaining position.

"You can't do it piecemeal. That's why it's not done in public. The more thinks like that you get, the more the price goes down, the more governance you give up," he said.

Toward the end of the forum, an attendee asked for a show of hands as to which organization attendees favored.

"Does the jury in a lawsuit wait until the end before they take a vote?" Lupica quipped.

At this forum, the voice/show-of-hands vote was overwhelmingly in favor of SoutheastHEALTH.