BY TIM BONFIELD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati may soon add a sixth hospital. After several months of talks, Fort Hamilton-Hughes Memorial Hospital in Hamilton has reached an "agreement in principle" to join the alliance, which already includes Christ, University and Jewish hospitals and the two St. Luke hospitals in Northern Kentucky.
The deal could be closed by early September, pending approval from the various hospital boards and a regulatory review.
"We are optimistic that our negotiations will come to a satisfactory conclusion and that Fort Hamilton-Hughes will become a full participant in the Health Alliance in the very near future," said Jack Cook, alliance president and chief executive, in a prepared statement. The deal reflects the latest move in a recent wave of hospital consolidation talks -- driven by continuing cost-cutting pressure on Tristate hospitals.
Mercy in talks
In other talks, the four-hospital Mercy Health Partners system had been negotiating with TriHealth, a partnership between Good Samaritan and Bethesda hospitals. But those talks died.
Now, the parent companies of the Mercy and Franciscan hospitals -- which control seven Tristate suburban hospitals -- are talking about forging their own alliance.
Independent hospital
Fort Hamilton-Hughes is one of the few independent hospitals left in the region. It has 307 registered beds, but actually uses about 185 beds.
It reports about 75,000 "adjusted patient days" a year, a measure of patient volume used by the Greater Cincinnati Health Council.
That makes Fort Hamilton-Hughes about as busy as Deaconess Hospital or the Franciscan Hospital in Mount Airy.
Wanted a partner
Fort Hamilton-Hughes had been seeking a partner for more than two years, including extended talks with the Mercy health system that died in October last year, before reaching an agreement with the Health Alliance.
Executives expect that joining the alliance will give the relatively small hospital better access to managed care contracts, closer relationships with Cincinnati-based specialists and high-tech hospital services, plus cost savings from consolidating duplicated services.
"Throughout our discussions with the Health Alliance, we have been extremely pleased with their openness and decision-making practices," said James Kingsbury, chief executive officer at Fort Hamilton-Hughes.
