The Latest on St. Mark’s Hospital Transfer Efforts

Last Friday, Hospital Center of Excellence (HCOE), the group planning to take over operation of St. Mark’s Medical Center in La Grange, and the current St. Mark’s management team met with three different groups of employees in a town hall type open format to present the plan for transition according to the term sheet, the next steps, and the current plans for the hospital after the transition.

These staff meetings were all well attended, and staff members were prepared with good questions. HCOE came away with an overwhelming impression that the staff is dedicated, passionate about their job, and working in a team culture.

Subsequently to these staff town hall meetings, a series of meetings were established with department heads at the hospital. Individual meetings included representatives from the business office, health information management, financial services, human resources, two sessions with information technology, maintenance and operations, medical operations, respiratory therapy, and rehabilitation services (physical therapy.) Three of the current board members were present in separate discussions to gain perspective on prior operations and review HCOE plans for the future. In addition to the SMMC representatives above, HCOE members met with a number of community groups, banking institutions, potential investors, and the current mortgage holder who is Lument Real Estate Capital Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of ORIX Corporation USA. HCOE also met with several community members to answer questions and share information about our current plans. These meetings involved a total of 67 members of the staff and board at SMMC, plus 29 members of the community including three individuals representing area medical service providers.

HCOE has worked with the Fayette Community Foundation to establish an account for tax deductible contributions for anyone that wants to help support our efforts. Any money contributed will go 100% towards direct expenses in completing the transition and no funds will be used for any salary or labor efforts by HCOE representatives. The link to the Foundation page is https://fayettecommunityfoundation. networkforgood.com/ projects/138305-designatedfunds .

Feel free to reach out to Sam Wilson, Chief Strategy Officer at Sam@Hospital COE.com if you have specific questions, concerns, or ideas for the hospital.