CHRISTUS Health Gets Good News From Moody’s
“In early 2017, CHRISTUS Health System finalized a deal to bring Longview-based Good Shepherd Health System under its direction. Late last week, the Irving-based not-for-profit’s efforts to turnaround Good Shepherd were recognized by Moody’s Investor Service,” according to D CEO Healthcare. “Moody’s raised Good Shepherd’s bond rating by four notches, from Caa1 to Ba3. Under the new rating, Moody’s says the hospital’s bonds have speculative elements and are subject to substantial credit risk. The old rating had the bonds judged to be of poor standing and subject to very high credit risk. Why the change? Well, Moody’s is high on the new ownership from CHRISTUS, writing that the marriage ‘will continue to bring financial strategic benefits as a rapidly executed turnaround is quickly increasing cashflow and liquidity.’ After more than a year under CHRISTUS, Moody’s says Good Shepherd has reaped ‘material financial and strategic benefits.’”
Report: Mercy Among Top 5 Health Systems in US
“Shorter hospital stays, fewer complications and better patient results are just a few metrics used to rank Mercy as one of the top five large health systems in the nation, alongside Mayo Clinic, according to a recent report. The 2018 Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems study recognizes five large, five medium and five small systems from 338 health systems and 2,422 hospitals across the nation,” reports Springfield News-Leader. “This is the third consecutive year that the Mercy health system has received the honor of being in the top five large systems in the country, out of 113 systems considered. The other top ranked health systems include the Mayo Foundation in Minnesota, Sentara Healthcare in Virginia, St. Luke’s Health System in Idaho and UCHealth in Colorado.”
SSM Name Added to All St. Anthony Health Outlets
“St. Anthony said its hospitals, medical group and healthplexes in Oklahoma will add ‘SM Health’ to their names,” according to The Oklahoman. “On Tuesday, hospital leaders unveiled new signs at what now will be known as SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital; SSM Health Bone & Joint Hospital at St. Anthony; SSM Health St. Anthony South; SSM Health St. Anthony Healthplex; SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital-Shawnee; and SSM Health Medical Group. The new name is designed to reflect the company’s ‘unity and organizational commitment to providing exceptional health care services, improving the lives of our patients and improving the health of our communities,’ the firm said.”
Providence St. Joseph Taps Women Leaders to Navigate New Strategic Direction
“Providence St. Joseph Health is betting on its diverse leadership team to help the integrated health system navigate a new strategic direction,” Modern Healthcare reports. “The Renton, Wash.-based not-for-profit system, which has 51 hospitals and more than 800 facilities across seven states as well as its own health plan, recently embarked on a new direction that involves extending its ambulatory network, divesting non-core assets and bolstering its digital capabilities, among other initiatives. The move mirrors many other systems’ transitions to deliver more care outside of the hospital as reimbursement models and other incentives change. Seven out of Providence St. Joseph’s 12-person leadership team are women, and the group is uniquely equipped to help reach vulnerable individuals and families, said Dr. Rod Hochman, CEO of Providence St. Joseph.”
Dignity Health Chief HR Officer on System’s Plan to Create a Self-funded HR Department
“San Francisco-based Dignity Health Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Darryl Robinson spoke with Gallup about the health system’s initiatives to increase its HR department’s revenue without asking for a budget increase,” according to Becker’s Hospital Review. “Mr. Robinson told Gallup that when he joined Dignity Health in 2013, the system’s 40 hospitals each treated HR differently. He said, ‘There were 40 different ways — 40 different hiring processes, 40 different compensation processes, 40 different ways of learning, and so on.’ Since his arrival, Dignity’s HR team has continued to work on consolidating each hospital’s hiring approach to create a more ubiquitous process systemwide.”
