"Wanted: Partner hospital with strong patient focus. Must share expertise for community health. Ideal candidate will help expand existing service base. Serious partners only, please prepare strong proposal for presentation to our board." While that is largely a fictitious "want ad," it includes very real elements being sought by the members of the Board of Trustees of South Haven Health System.
Just like Lee Memorial Hospital in Dowagiac found Borgess Hospital of Kalamazoo to be a perfect fit, and just like Paw Paw's Lakeview Hospital made the connection year's ago with Bronson Methodist Hospital, also of Kalamazoo, the leadership team at South Haven Health System is launching a full court press to come up with a healthcare partner of their own.
The Board of Trustees has unanimously voted to begin that search in earnest. Board Chair Dennis Palgen says, "We feel this is a very positive development for the South Haven Health System and the communities we serve."
Two years ago that same board actually began the journey when they recognized the national trend of independent hospitals partnering with larger health systems. Recognizing that a primary responsibility of the hospital's board is to assure that health care service remains in the community long-term, the board began educating themselves and investigating all reasonable options open to their system. Joanne Schroeder is President & CEO of South Haven Health System. She says, "We know a partnership will allow us to be stronger."
Board Chair Palgen reminds everyone, "Our focus has always been putting the patient first." He adds, "That's important to us and our new partner will share this same value. It's not just about keeping quality care close to home, but expanding our list of services and expertise for the health of our community. Partnering with a health system will enable us to do this and so much more."
The board of trustees will request proposals from several organizations and will seek to assess potential partner's interest. Palgen notes, "While this is only the beginning of a dialogue about our hospital's future, we take our responsibility to the community very seriously and we want to proceed in a measured and thoughtful manner."
The Joint Commission is the leading accreditor of health care organizations in the United States. In their 2015 annual report titled "American Hospitals: Improving Quality & Safety," South Haven Health System was recognized for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance for pneumonia care, surgical care, venous thromboembolism care, and immunizations. As such they were tabbed a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures, one of only 1,043 out of more than 3,300 eligible hospitals in the nation to achieve the Top Performer distinction.
There was no immediate indication of a set timeline for when the South Haven team hopes to have a partnership created and in place. Stay tuned.
