After leadership delays, Penrose doctors' group gains its

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Apr 3, 2000 | by Amy Fletcher

It's official.

After more than a year of legal tussling, doctors' organization Penrose-St. Francis Medical Group has cut ties with Denver-based Centura Health, manager of the local Penrose-St. Francis hospital system.

The deal, which closed March 1, took longer than expected because of leadership changes at Centura, said Bruce Kruger, chief operating officer of PSFMG.

During the first half of last year, Centura Health got a new chief executive, Joseph Swedish. Rick O'Connell became the new head of the Penrose-St. Francis hospital system.

"Basically it was very cordial. They had a number of things to do," Kruger said. "It was a priority but not their top priority."

Both sides wanted the split - the medical group was unhappy with its management contract with Centura Health, and the hospital system, which lacked doctor management expertise and resources, lost money on PSFMG.

"We're officially an independent medical group," Kruger said.

"All the responsibilities financially ... are now resident with the medical group."

Citing a confidentiality agreement, Kruger would not reveal specifics of the settlement, but said "we worked an arrangement out so that the medical group would have the best chance of succeeding."

Centura will continue to provide such information services as billing and scheduling for the doctors until the end of May.

After that, the medical group, which includes 45 physicians, will own and maintain its own system.

The only change for patients will be getting used to a new name, Kruger said.

"That was one of the conditions - that we change our name so it doesn't reflect Penrose-St. Francis," he said.

"Its just a matter of assessing and picking one."

In January, PSFMG and Colorado Springs Health Partners said they were discussing a joint operating arrangement to cut administrative cuts.

Some ideas are being kicked around, Jeff Milburn of CSHP said last week, but "nothing seems to be going very fast anywhere."

It appears Medicaid payments to some Colorado hospitals will not be cut as much as originally proposed.

The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing's 2000-2001 budget proposal would have cut $9.5 million from state Medicaid payments to some hospitals.

Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs stood to lose about $1.27 million a year in funding, and Penrose-St. Francis Health Services would have lost $416,730, according to state projections.

But after input from Colorado hospitals, the Joint Budget Committee has instead proposed a $5 million reduction, said Peg O'Keefe, spokeswoman for the Colorado Health and Hospital Association.

Executives at some health care companies around the country made Golf Digest magazine's March ranking of the top 200 golfing chief executive officers from Fortune 500 companies.

Two health care chief executives made the top five - Robert Walter of Cardinal Health ranked No. 2, followed by Edward Blechschmidt of Olsten Corp. in third.

PacifiCare Health Systems' Alan Hoops was in a three-way tie for No. 60.

- Staff writer Amy Fletcher may be reached at 636-0190 or amyf@gazette.com.