Lake Health is exploring the option of a strategic partnership, its board of trustees announced on Thursday, March 5.
As the system in Lake County looked at its routine strategic planning process, leaders began to weigh how quickly health care was changing due to consumerism and technology advances.
"And so when we saw how rapidly they were changing from our standpoint, we just thought to ourselves that, because of the speed that it's moving, maybe it make sense for us to see that if through a partnership, we may be able to kind of accelerate that change," said Dino DiSanto, vice president of marketing and government affairs for Lake Health.
Management consulting firm Kaufman Hall will work with the board of trustees, medical staff and hospital leadership to evaluate opportunities. DiSanto emphasized that this is an exploration of possibilities that could lead to a partnership — or could help leadership conclude that the best path is the one the system is currently on.
The strategic partnership process aims to create the best long-term vision for the hospital system, said Michael Mayher, chair of the board of trustees, in a news release.
Lake Health, which maintains an"'A-" rating from Fitch and a "Baa1" rating from Moody's, is approaching this process from a "strong financial position," meaning there's no immediate financial need to enter a partnership, according to the release.
"We begin this process from a position of strength," said Dr. Philip Brzozowski, president of the Lake Health Medical Staff, in a prepared statement. "By any metric, we have evolved into one of the outstanding health care providers in the region. Yet, there is another level to which we aspire. This process is about seeing if we can enhance our abilities and opportunities to provide care right here in Lake County."
Between 1924 and 1985, Lake County Memorial Hospitals was a county-owned entity. The hospitals converted in 1985 to a private independent nonprofit called Lake Hospital System, taking over all obligations from the county, including $19.7 million in debt, according to the release. The system changed its name to Lake Health in 2009.
"As we undergo this process to position us for the future, nothing changes in terms of the superior health care we provide," said Cynthia Moore-Hardy, president and CEO of Lake Health, in a prepared statement. "Our mission won't change either: to provide local access, healing with compassion and superior quality, which has been our hallmark for more than a century."
Management consulting firm Kaufman Hall will work with the board of trustees, medical staff and hospital leadership to evaluate opportunities. DiSanto emphasized that this is an exploration of possibilities that could lead to a partnership — or could help leadership conclude that the best path is the one the system is currently on.
This article was originally published in Crain's Cleveland Business.
