SoutheastHEALTH addresses questions about potential partnership with Perry County Memorial

PERRYVILLE, Mo. — Dozens of area residents filled an events center Monday night to learn more about a potential partnership involving the local hospital — and many of them had pointed questions.

Some of the answers they received did not satisfy.

The public forum, hosted at Robinson Construction, focused on a potential partnership between Perry County (Missouri) Memorial Hospital and either SoutheastHEALTH of Cape Girardeau or Mercy of St. Louis.

Ken Bateman, chief executive officer of SoutheastHEALTH, attended the forum. No one from Mercy attended, though the organization did issue a statement Monday afternoon.

Bateman spoke at length about the organization's proposal to the hospital's leadership. He contended SoutheastHEALTH would be a good partner for the hospital for several reasons, pledging to keep health care services local and suggesting a planned satellite nursing school would serve not only the Perry County hospital but Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

"Health care and education are the key to a successful community, and that is what we would like to bring here to Perryville," he commented. "A school of nursing but then work with the students to get them excited about getting into health care."

He pointed to a lease agreement with a Dexter, Missouri, hospital that would serve as a model for a Perry County arrangement, saying a long-term lease would allow SoutheastHEALTH to invest in new facilities in Perryville.

"That is the structure you really should be looking for. How do you monetize that campus so that somebody else is making investments to grow the hospital?" he said.

In response to a question of whether Perry County Memorial Hospital officials would have a seat at SoutheastHEALTH's table, Bateman said he would ensure two board members had seats on the SoutheastHEALTH board.

Mercy statement

Mercy issued a statement Monday afternoon with regard to transparency in its proposal.

"Mercy appreciates the invitation to participate in an event to be hosted ... by Mr. Robinson regarding the future of PCMH. We agree that transparency and public discourse are an important part of the process, which is why Mercy is planning to meet with individual businesses later this week. As we will hold a number of meetings with interested businesses, we respectfully declined Mr. Robinson's invitation and hope we can find a later time where it is mutually agreeable for us to meet with him and other business leaders," the statement reads.

Perry County Memorial Hospital chief executive office Chris Wibbenmeyer attended the meeting but did not address the group. He did respond to several questions, including one asked multiple times — has any final decision been made with regard to a potential partnership? He said no decision has been made, but he declined to comment further.

Joe Lupica, chairman of Newpoint Healthcare Advisors, a consulting firm working with Perry County (Missouri) Memorial Hospital leadership, addresses the crowd gathered Monday in Perryville, Missouri, to discuss the future of the hospital.Rick Fahr ~ Southeast Missourian

Consulting team

In a release Monday, Perry County Health System announced it has added a consulting team in a community engagement capacity.

Newpoint Healthcare Advisors, led by chairman Joe Lupica, will develop a process to listen to local voices, the release states.

"We're here to listen and learn from the people served by their hospital," Lupica said in the statement. "The timing is perfect because no binding decisions have been made about any affiliation for the hospital."

The release said the health care system's goal is to retain local control of the hospital.

"It is and has always remained the goal for Perry County Health System to ensure that patients, physicians, nurses and the people of Perry County are able to retain local control to preserve and enhance the current services provided, keeping in mind the need to provide the best value to employers and families," the release states.

Newpoint's team will conduct community forums and interviews with key stakeholders.

Though not scheduled to speak at the forum, Lupica took questions for about 20 minutes, assuring the group the process has not been decided.

"I don't see a train leaving the station," he said. "This is the time when the community needs to speak."

Lupica addressed questions about which governing body will ultimately decide the hospital's future. He said a five-member elected board has that power, adding there are layers of "checks and balances" to ensure no small "cabal" has outsized power in regard to the hospital's future.

Patrick Naeger, a member of the hospital's publicly elected board, told the group he would never vote to sell the hospital but could support a lease agreement with a partner.

"If we are going to make any decision on behalf of the people, we want the elected people to make it," he said.

Patrick Naeger, a member of the publicly elected Perry County (Missouri) Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees, speaks to the gathered crowd Monday in Perryville, Missouri, to discuss a potential partnership between the hospital and another health care organization.Rick Fahr ~ Southeast Missourian