New year brings McCune-Brooks into Sisters of Mercy Health System [The Joplin Globe, Mo.]

Dec. 29--CARTHAGE, Mo. -- Some changes are in place and others are planned, but the transfer becomes official Sunday when McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital becomes a part of Sisters of Mercy Health System.

Mercy's 50-year lease of the city-owned hospital was approved by the Carthage City Council in November and goes into effect Jan. 1.

McCune-Brooks' bed space and services were expanded in the wake of the May 22 tornado that destroyed Mercy's St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin. Money from Mercy paid for that expansion, and doctors and other staff members came to work at the hospital as part of a talent-sharing agreement.

<p>More services are to come as a result of the lease, but only after Carthage residents weigh in on the direction, according to Bob Copeland, chief executive of McCune-Brooks.

He said residents' comments will be sought in a community round table planned for Jan. 17 at Fairview Christian Church. The session is set for 6 p.m., after a blessing of the hospital at 5 p.m.

"Mercy did something similar in Joplin earlier this year," Copeland said. "They want to bring programs and services that meet the community's hopes and needs."

Copeland, who will remain as the hospital's top executive, said there will be no change in patient services that have resulted in McCune-Brooks receiving top scores in patient satisfaction.

"It will be business as usual in the delivery of good patient care; I want the community to know that," he said. "But, we'll also have more resources to do that. And patients will still get valet parking and a personal escort to where they want to go."

Mercy officials are impressed with the level of patient satisfaction at McCune-Brooks, said Miranda Lewis, media coordinator with St. John's Mercy Hospital in Joplin.

"We are thrilled to be able to have this partnership because McCune-Brooks is an outstanding hospital," she said. "We're really excited at what we'll be able to bring to them, and what they'll be able to bring to the patients."

A new parking lot was just completed, and development will start soon on a new medical office building to be constructed on the hospital campus. Installation of a new medical records system will start in September. Expansion of the hospital, which opened just four years ago at its new location, also could come at a later date.

Tom Flanigan, then a Carthage city councilman and now a state representative, was part of the McCune-Brooks Health Care Foundation that was involved in the hospital construction.

Flanigan said he sees the lease as "a great relationship that's going to benefit McCune-Brooks, Mercy and Carthage."

"It gives McCune-Brooks a larger partner to expand its services and prepare for (federal) health care reform changes," he said. "It also addresses some of the financial concerns the hospital was facing."

The hospital will start the new year with a new name: Mercy McCune-Brooks Hospital. In two years, the title will be Mercy Carthage, "but the McCune-Brooks name will stay with the property and always be evident," Copeland said.

Services that have been expanded to date include patient care by anesthesiologists and hospitalists, gastroenterology and general surgeries. The lease also will bring the expertise of Mercy specialists to Carthage in areas that will include pediatrics.

"Mercy has two flagship children's hospitals, and there will be computer hookups so those specialists can be consulted," Copeland said. "It will bring those services to outlying communities so parents won't have to drive to take their child to a specialist."

Lease provisions

The lease calls for Mercy to pay off the $40 million in debt remaining from the hospital's construction, plus an additional $250,000 in annual payments. Mercy also will spend $20 million to $30 million to install an electronic medical records system and to construct a medical office building. Mercy will set aside $8 million in working capital that would be available to McCune-Brooks, so if the lease would end, there would be money in the bank to reconstitute the hospital.

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(c)2011 The Joplin Globe (Joplin, Mo.)

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