CHI's invisible presence: Catholic health system owns 107 facilities in the U.S.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

By: Amy Fletcher Denver Business Journal

The nation's second-largest Catholic health system is based in Denver, but you won't see the name Catholic Health Initiatives atop local hospitals.

That's because the two hospitals it owns in the Denver area are managed by Centura Health and they are generally branded with that name. Catholic Health Initiatives, or CHI, owns 63 hospitals and 44 long-term care, assisted living and residential facilities in 19 states.

Last year, the company's revenues hit $5.7 billion.

CHI provides its 54 market-based organizations-Centura Health's Front Range operations, for example, would be considered one market-with many services, including leadership development, help with developing policies and procedures to improve finances and operations, strategic planning and some employee benefits for 67,000 workers. Its facilities pay a monthly fee, 1.25 percent of their expenses, for those services.

"Their job at a local level is to make decisions about what the community needs," CHI President and CEO Patricia Cahill said. "Our job is to help them do their job better."

http://www.bizjournals.com/industries/health_care/hospitals/2002/12/30/denver_story2.html

It will be interested in seeing how all these mergers pan out in the next two years. All the Catholic health facilites in Philadelphia/Mid NJ area are now under the Mercy Health System/ Catholic Health East affiliation. There is buying power in contract negotiations with insurance companies and suppliers so that should help the bottom line.

[flowerchild]

The Hunter Group

=Evil Group

Why do they pay CEO's so much when they have to have a consulting group to tell them what to do? Grrrr. Is it so they don't look like the bad guys when they take away my bene's, don't replace equipment, make me care for twice the patients as are safe, and then make me go away by lay offs? Grrrrr. This can't be a good thing. The only reason the hospital lost money in the first place is b/c of groups like these taking over the competition and driving the force of medical care where they want it to go leaving others with no choice but to join in on the group and pay them to run things. Grrrr.