BUSINESS GROUP ON HEALTH OPPOSES OFFICES AT HOSPITALS

The Southeast Missouri Business Group on Health opposes a possible plan to build medical office buildings on the campus of St. Francis Medical Center, contending it's bad medicine for the community.

The business group's board of directors argues that such a plan would result in costly duplication of services and ultimately higher costs to health care consumers.

"There appears to be a surplus of suitable office space already present in Cape Girardeau," Mary Dunn, the business group's executive director, said in a March 31 letter to the administrators of Southeast Missouri Hospital and St. Francis Medical Center.

Local doctors and Business Group on Health officials said St. Francis Medical Center is considering constructing a medical office building and has talked to the Internal Medicine group of doctors about relocating to such a structure.

"It is being explored. That doesn't mean it is going to happen," said William Port, administrator of the Internal Medicine group.

He said the group of doctors are spread out among two buildings. "We would like to think if we got ourselves into one building, it would be well designed and more efficient," he added.

Port said it wouldn't matter where the medical building was built. Internal Medicine physicians would continue to use both hospitals in treating patients.

Jim Wente, president of Southeast Missouri Hospital, declined to comment on the issue Friday, except to say that the hospital has responded in writing to the business group.

But Dunn said Wente has told the business group's board that Southeast Hospital doesn't want to build its own medical office building.

She said Wente stated that the hospital would prefer a joint venture with St. Francis, but would have to consider constructing its own medical office building from a competitive standpoint if St. Francis erects one.

Robert Hendrix, chairman of the St. Francis Medical Center board, said both hospitals have been looking at the possibility of constructing medical office buildings or collaborating on construction of such a facility.

At this point, he said, no decisions have been made. But Hendrix said St. Francis already is looking at possible sites for a medical office building and a decision on the project could be made by this summer.

"We are looking at it from the standpoint of what the area needs right now is more entry-level physicians," said Hendrix. "There is not an overabundance of office buildings suitable for doctors' offices."

Hendrix said medical buildings have particular plumbing and electrical needs that can't be met by just any office building.

Many of Cape Girardeau's physicians have offices in Doctors' Park. But Hendrix said, "Doctors' Park is full, and there doesn't seem to be any other alternative right now, so that is the reason that both hospitals are looking at it."

Hendrix said the business group is looking strictly at the health care cost to businesses while "we are looking at serving the medical needs of this entire area."

But in her March 31 letter, Dunn wrote that medical buildings on hospital grounds typically are found in urban areas where doctors offices, hospitals and labs are far apart and doctor and patient travel time is lengthy.

"None of these characteristics are present in Cape Girardeau," she said. Most local doctors' offices are situated within three miles of both hospitals. Travel time between most doctors' offices and either hospital is less than 10 minutes, said Dunn.

"Current occupancy rates at both hospitals are less than 60 percent," she wrote. "If an office building is placed on either campus, physicians locating in the building will likely have a tendency to more heavily utilize the services of the hospital on whose campus they are located.

"This phenomenon will likely cause the other hospital to build a competing (medical office building) to protect its dwindling share of the market."

Dunn said such actions by the hospitals could lead to:

-- Doctors and patients having to choose alignment with one hospital or the other.

-- One hospital gaining supremacy over the other, causing the weaker hospital to become affiliated with or bought by a St. Louis medical network, in which case more health care dollars will be taken out of the local economy.

-- The two hospitals having to raise patient charges to pay for the buildings.

-- Both hospitals engaging in an ever expanding duplication of services.

-- The end of collaborative efforts by the hospitals to improve health care in the community, with each facility viewing "its existence as dependent on taking services (revenues) from the other facility."

Dunn said Friday that it still has to be shown if there is a need for such a medical building.

But she insisted there is no need for the two hospitals to persist with "this ridiculous competitiveness that has gone on for years."

If a medical office building is needed, Dunn said, both hospitals should work together -- not engage in separate building projects.

"Nobody's really justified that it's needed," said Bob Cranmer, president of the Business Group on Health. "Here we are trying to work for quality care and affordable care and this one doesn't make sense."

Both Cranmer and Dunn said the business group has expressed its concern to the state's certificate of need board, whose approval is needed before hospitals can proceed with any major capital projects.