Becker's Hospital Review

41 41 CEO/STRATEGY Lafayette General Health issues termination warning letters to 800 employees By Alia Paavola L afayette (La.) General Health issued letters to nearly 800 employees April 30 warning them of termina- tion if the state doesn't provide sufficient funding to its subsidiary Lafayette-based University Hospitals and Clinics by June 30, according to the Daily Advertiser. LGH, which is a $750 million hospital network, entered into a public-private partnership with the state to oper- ate UHC in 2013. UHC serves more than 54,000 patients annually, many of whom are on Medicaid. Health network officials argue the lack of funds from Louisiana, which is grappling with a $1 billion shortfall, breaches the partnership agreement they signed in 2013. Further, LGH President David Callecod argues, "The continued reduction in funding for UHC makes its operation untenable and creates systemic risk for our not-for-profit, community-owned health system." In a letter to Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards April 3, LGH officials called on the state to fully fund the hospital by June 30. In case the state does not offer this funding, LGH issued "warn" letters to all of its UHC employees two months before the end of this fiscal year, which ends June 30. At the same time, LGH began a "Save UHC" movement. Teams of employees at UHC are encouraging all work- ers, patients and residents to contact elected officials, urging them to fund the hospital. n Ascension charts new strategic direction: 4 things to know By Ayla Ellison S t. Louis-based Ascension is changing its strategic direc- tion to better meet the needs of patients who are seek- ing more care in outpatient settings, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Here are four things to know. 1. Ascension President and CEO Anthony Tersigni, EdD, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the organization's new strategic direction will focus more on improving patients' overall health. "The mindset has to change from inpatient care to: How do we move away from our campuses and move into the community and move into settings that are easier to access, cheaper, quicker and have the same quality and safety and outcome standards?" he said. 2. One of Ascension's goals is to better leverage outpatient care sites, such as urgent care centers. 3. Ascension also aims to become profitable off Medicare rates. Roughly 64 percent of Ascension's patients rely on government payers, such as Medicare and Medicaid. "That 64 percent is only going to go up and we need to live within the realities of the new world and that's the new world," Dr. Tersigni told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 4. Ascension is taking several steps to remain financially viable and to improve patient care. Dr. Tersigni said clini- cians are creating a playbook dubbed "Ascension Way" to eliminate clinical variance. The system also aims to wipe out preventable disparities in health outcomes, according to the report. n Amazon vs. Walmart: Who has more power to change healthcare's landscape? By Ayla Ellison A mazon and Walmart are both aiming to redesign how healthcare works in the U.S., but Walmart may be better positioned to make significant changes in the industry, according to CNBC. In late January, Amazon announced it was teaming up with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to launch a new com- pany aimed at improving the healthcare expe- rience for their employees. "Everyone in the country is talking about Amazon and its partners changing the land- scape of self-insured, large employers," Trevor Price, CEO of the health services firm Oxeon Partners, told CNBC. "But the company that has the biggest opportunity to change land- scape of healthcare, given all the Americans that walk through the door every week, is Walmart." Walmart, the nation's largest employer, has a few major healthcare deals in the works. e company is in preliminary talks with health insurer Humana about developing a closer partnership, with one possibility as Walmart acquiring Humana. Walmart is also report- edly looking to buy online pharmacy startup PillPack for under $1 billion. ese deals, which are still in early stages, give some insight into Walmart's ambitious vision for healthcare, according to the report. omas Cassels, a health researcher and con- sultant, also said Walmart is the company to watch. "Outside of specialty drugs, Walmart is quiet- ly the most affordable pharmacy in the coun- try," he told CNBC. "And by contracting di- rectly with providers across the country, they are closing in on offering the most affordable medical services and episodes as well." n

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