Franciscan St. Elizabeth Announces Consolidation
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowMishawaka-based Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health says it will consolidate its acute medial units, intensive care and emergency departments from its Lafayette Central campus to its Lafayette East location. The system says the move is the result of a “rapidly evolving” health care landscape. Chief Executive Officer Terry Wilson tells WLFI-TV in West Lafayette the move could affect more than a dozen workers.
April 22, 2014
News Release
Mishawaka, Ind. – Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health announced today – April 22 – that it will consolidate its acute medical units, ICU and emergency departments from the Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health – Lafayette Central campus (St. Elizabeth Central) to the Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health – Lafayette East campus (St. Elizabeth East) by Sept. 1, 2014. In addition, it will establish an urgent care facility at the St. Elizabeth Central campus and begin planning and construction of existing shelled space at the St. Elizabeth East campus.
“The staff at St. Elizabeth has worked diligently to improve our quality, patient experience, operational and financial performance. We are making significant progress, but it is no secret that the healthcare landscape is rapidly evolving and economic pressures are forcing changes including reduced reimbursements, new payer models, healthcare reform laws and shifts from inpatient to outpatient care,” said Terry Wilson, regional president and CEO of Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health. “As anticipated, and has been experienced throughout the country, inpatient utilization has been declining for the past several years, and we are now at a point where we have significant operational, quality and efficiency opportunities that can be gained from consolidation while continuing to strengthen our market share.”
As part of the consolidation plan, Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health has established a master facility planning team to review inpatient and outpatient services to identify appropriate locations and possible consolidation and partnership opportunities.
“We continue to identify opportunities to increase our market share in our region,” continued Wilson. “Franciscan Alliance was one of the first in the country to become an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) with the Western Indiana Region joining in 2014. We were the first in Indiana to partner in Anthem's ACO this month. Additionally, we have entered into strategic agreements with other healthcare facilities within our market and are exploring opportunities that will strengthen our position in key service lines.”
About Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health
Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health is a member of Mishawaka, Ind.-based Franciscan Alliance, one of the largest Catholic health care systems in the Midwest with 13 growing hospitals, approximately 20,000 employees and a number of nationally recognized Centers of Health Care Excellence. Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health includes Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health – Lafayette East and Lafayette Central, as well as Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health – Crawfordsville, Franciscan Physician Network with offices in Lafayette, West Lafayette, Monticello, Mulberry and Crawfordsville, and Woman’s Clinic, Lafayette OB/GYN and Premier Healthcare for Women in Lafayette.
Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health is accredited by Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program, the Community Health Accreditation Program, the College of American Pathologists, the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care for Heart Failure and the Center of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Gynecology. Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health is also a recipient of the American College of Cardiology Foundation Silver Performance Achievement Award. For more information, please visit FranciscanStE.org and FranciscanAlliance.org.
Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health is also available through social media. On Facebook, visit Facebook.com/StEHealth; on Twitter visit Twitter.com/StElizabeth; and on Pinterest visit Pinterest.com/StEHealth.
Source: Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health