SoutheastHEALTH merges with Ripley County Memorial Hospital

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- SoutheastHEALTH is now managing Ripley County Memorial Hospital, a move that will ensure the financially struggling rural hospital stays open.

The announcement, made in Doniphan, Monday follows three months of feasibility studies examining how the two hospitals could combine.

Under the 10-year lease agreement, SoutheastHEALTH will pay annual rent of $350,000 in monthly installments to the Ripley County Hospital Board. This amount was based on an independent appraisal done by a St. Louis firm.

The 30-bed hospital's name will be changed to Southeast Health Center of Ripley County.

"We have struggled for a long time trying to offer the health care services that this community and county deserve. Our affiliation with SoutheastHEALTH is going to make a real difference," said Ripley County Memorial Hospital board of trustees President Jerry Cole.

Residents of Ripley County pay a half-cent sales tax to support the hospital, generating about $400,000 annually. The county will transfer these sales tax funds to SoutheastHEALTH monthly to be used to help subsidize hospital services, said Hugh King, vice president and chief financial officer at SoutheastHEALTH.

Rep. Jo Ann Emerson helped bring SoutheastHEALTH and the Ripley County Commission and County Hospital Board together.

"In our discussion with her she said there was a hospital in distress and our antenna went up because one of the objectives of the hospital is to grow our footprint and create consistent referral patterns to the hospital," said Jim Limbaugh, executive vice president of planning and business development at SoutheastHEALTH.

Tied to Ripley County Memorial is an active primary care clinic serving the county's 13,000 residents. "The concern in those rural communities, where the hospital is struggling and the clinic is tied to that it could jeopardize the ability to have primary care services in the region," said SoutheastHEALTH President and CEO Debbie Linnes.

This is a challenging time for health care providers who are struggling in this economy and facing increasing regulatory demands, such as having to have electronic records systems in place, she added.

"Many are reaching out looking for long-term solutions to sustain access to health care in their communities," she said.

SoutheastHEALTH already made a $350,000 deposit to Ripley County Memorial Hospital on July 30. These funds will be returned to SoutheastHEALTH once its 10-year lease expires, Hugh said.

SoutheastHEALTH is investing more than $1 million into "massive" equipment and technology to upgrades at Ripley County Memorial, which opened in 1960. This includes a new 64-slice CT scanner, replacing the hospital's outdated one-slice CT. New lab and computer equipment also will be installed.

"The increasing demands for new technologies and new information systems make it difficult for independent, stand alone rural hospitals to survive," said Linnes.

Now a two-hospital system, SoutheastHEALTH receives substantial discounts due to the large quantity of supplies and equipment it will purchase, King said.

Fresh paint, new flooring and ceilings are part of an extensive interior remodeling project now in progress to update the hospital's lobby, patient rooms, dietary, radiology and lab areas. New landscaping is planned for the spring.

While the facility is licensed for 30 beds, SoutheastHEALTH expects to operate it with 16 to 20 beds.

No major changes are expected in Ripley County Memorial's 125-member staff or its management, said Linnes. The Ripley County employees will become SoutheastHEALTH employees after successfully completing an employee screening process standard at all of its facilities.

An application will be filed with the state to transfer the hospital's license to Southeast Health Center of Ripley County.

Staff there will focus on providing primary and urgent care and send patients who need more specialized care to Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau, said King,

"Smaller emergency rooms like that can stabilize patients to the point where they can be transferred. That can make all the difference in saving someone's life. There isn't a helipad at Doniphan, but we will be looking into that in the next year," said King.

It's common in rural communities, like Doniphan, for medical helicopters to land in parking lots or fields.

Physician specialists from SoutheastHEALTH will soon travel to the health center in Doniphan regularly. Which specialties will be offered will depend on feedback SoutheastHEALTH gets from a survey being sent to Ripley County residents informing them of the changes at the hospital and seeking their input on services needed in the community.

SoutheastHEALTH administrators have been in contact with other hospitals in the region to discuss ways to work together, King said.

"The door is open if community hospitals are looking for a partner, but we're not aggressively pursuing other opportunities like this one," King said.

mmiller@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

109 Plum St., Doniphan, MO