Summa Health's rebound is on display via its many projects

In addition to the new seven-story patient tower Summa Health is opening in late May on its Akron campus, there are nearly two dozen other construction projects planned or underway across the system.

Summa estimates that it will invest more than $100 million in direct labor costs for the projects scheduled over the next two to three years.

"This is really a function of a couple things," said Dr. Cliff Deveny, Summa's president and CEO. "One is it was time to update everything. But two, the organization has done much better. And so being in a better financial position, we were able to borrow the money. We're going to be refinancing some of the debt. Days cash (on hand) is the highest I've seen it since I've been here: 273 days."

Deveny joined Summa as its interim leader in March 2017, a time of financial and cultural turmoil for the system. He was named its permanent president and CEO in October 2018 following a significant financial turnaround.

Summa closed 2018 with an operating income of $24.3 million, compared to an operating loss of $28 million the year prior. Operating revenue grew slightly, from $1.31 billion to $1.37 billion, between those two years.

Throughout this turnaround, the system has remained committed to its construction projects. Summa expects to open the new 343,000-square-foot patient tower — the first phase of the system's $350 million investment in its facilities — on time and under budget. Summa has planned a community open house for the building from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 19.

Of the $350 million commitment, more than $220 million is being spent during the campaign's first phase, of which the tower is the landmark investment. It includes other major projects as well, including $22 million spent on improvements throughout Summa's Barberton campus.

Construction is expected to start within a year on phase two, which includes relocating inpatient services and clinical services from St. Thomas over to the Akron campus, as well as the renovation of current hospital space at the Akron campus and a couple dozen projects that are new facilities or renovations of existing buildings.

The new tower brings the portion of Summa's inpatient rooms that are private from 30% to about 50%. Following the renovation in phase two, that number should be in the mid- to upper 80s.

"Because of the privatization, we're not really increasing the number of beds at all," said Dr. David Custodio, president of Summa Health System – Akron and St. Thomas Campuses.

The ground floor of the new patient tower will include pre-admission testing, a multipurpose conference center and the Dr. Gary B. and Pamela S. Williams Center for Breast Health. The first floor is dedicated to same-day surgery and expands the operating rooms by 33%.

The birthing center (featuring labor and delivery rooms with options for tub birthing, as well as a dedicated triage area, operating rooms and a suite of recovery rooms for surgical deliveries) and Akron Children's Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit are housed on the second floor.

The third floor is dedicated to mechanical equipment and will have no public access. Floors four through six contain in-patient rooms and space for friends and family to visit.

With a couple of years under his belt, the finances recovering from 2017 losses and the new patient tower scheduled to open in late May, Deveny has a goal going forward to continue to meet the needs of the community and to grow.

"One of the things we saw early on was we had a significant amount of demand for services … but we hadn't built the capacity or the accessibility," he said. "So either we didn't have the workforce or we didn't have the sites of care, we didn't have the consumer focus to meet the needs and expectations."

In the first quarter of this year, compared to Q1 2018, inpatient admissions were up 5% and surgical cases increased 2%, while observation cases decreased by 23%, emergency visits decreased by 3% and other outpatient visits decreased by 2%.

The system has extended hours and expanded its workforce while reducing overhead through the consolidation of administrative functions. In the past 18 months, the system has hired about 50 new physicians. The new tower will create 100 new jobs.

"You may see 20 positions over here relocated or changed, but then we're growing over here," Deveny said. "So we've been basically recreating ourselves."

Last October, Summa launched a search for a partner health system to provide long-term financial stability, advance service offerings and support continued investment in the community's health.

Deveny said the system currently has a few final candidates who are currently working to propose everything from structure to governance to capital commitments and more. The board will assess the final proposals and score them over the next two to three weeks with a goal of making a decision by late May or early June as to whether they will partner with a system and, if so, with whom. Deveny called the final candidates a "diverse" group but declined to lay out specifics.

As the system has gone through massive change in the past couple of years, so too has the culture of the organization.

"At every level, you're seeing pride in the work, pride in the organization," Deveny said. "People are telling their friends, 'You need to come work here.' Physicians are more actively involved in recruitment than I've ever seen."

Added Custodio: "It's palpably different in the workforce."

"Summa Health's rebound is on display via its many projects" originally appeared in Crain's Detroit Business.