Hospital merger stays on track

by Brett Dunlap

PARKERSBURG - The merger of the two Parkersburg hospitals into one entity is on track to be completed in March after receiving an important approval recently.

The West Virginia Health Care Authority approved the Certificate of Need for West Virginia United Health System (WVUHS) to purchase St. Joseph's Hospital while simultaneously affiliating with Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital, bringing both groups together under one organization.

Both hospitals will be consolidated under the CCMH legal and governance structure and operate as a subsidiary of WVUHS.

"The approval of our Certificate of Need is the final and a huge governmental requirement hurdle to get behind us,'' said Mike King, president and chief executive officer, Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital. ''We greatly appreciate the West Virginia Health Care Authority moving through the approval process so expeditiously.

''This most assuredly saves time and money and will benefit all the employees and this community in moving through the consolidation process.''

Health care authority officials said their approval is conditioned upon the submitting of annual reports showing the actual utilization and revenue and expenses compared to projections presented in the application for the first three years of operation.

Approval was further conditioned on the hospital limiting its rate increases to rates at or below what it would be permitted under the benchmarking methodology, they said.

Tom Jones, president and CEO of WVUHS, said they were thrilled with the approval as it marks the last of the state's approval process.

''Now we can concentrate on doing this,'' he said. ''We are excited and ready to move forward with the financing for this deal and getting it finalized. We expect to have that in place sometime between March 1 and April 1.''

St. Joseph's employees have been filling out employment paperwork with CCMH to make sure accreditations and qualifications are in line with what Camden-Clark requires. It also allows Camden-Clark to get everyone's information up-to-date to be able to process payroll and benefit payments.

Work is continuing with getting the employees of St. Joseph's Hospital under the Camden-Clark system, Jones said.

During the past two weeks, Tom Heller, Camden-Clark's human resources vice president, and King have met with more than 500 St. Joseph's employees and 300 Camden-Clark employees in forums to discuss the consolidation process and address each employee's questions and concerns.

''We have also had several transition meetings between various St. Joe and CCMH departments to work through the plans for the transition process with no major obstacles,'' King said. ''Currently we have already received and processed approximately 750 employee applications from St. Joseph's.

''These forms were required to establish their new pay and benefit structure and verify certifications required for many of the services we provide. In addition, the staff is working through the process to ensure all medical staff members are properly credentialed for a smooth and seamless consolidation transition.''

The new combined entity, which is expected to have more than 2,000 employees, will be a nearly $400 million organization that will see about half a million outpatients every year, drawing from 10 counties, local hospital officials said.

''The most important part of this entire consolidation process is that we appreciate the tremendous support from the State of West Virginia, our community, the Board of Directors, physicians, staff, employees, virtually everyone, who has worked together to build a stronger and healthier medical center better able to serve our community and meet the health care needs now and in the future," King said.