A planned management agreement between St. Luke's Hospital and AdventHealth faced an unexpected hurdle when Hurricane Helene struck. This challenging situation led to a unique situation where both institutions worked remotely, strengthening their cultural bond despite financial and logistical concerns.
St. Luke's Hospital in Columbus, North Carolina, had been planning to ink a management agreement with AdventHealth, one of the nation's largest health systems, for months. But just days before the transaction was scheduled to close in late September, a wrinkle emerged: Hurricane Helene.The storm was catastrophic in just about every way, but it was an unexpected 'blessing' in at least this one, leaders from both entities told Newsweek.
It accelerated a cultural bond that sometimes gets lost amidst financial analyses and compliance reviews.The critical access hospital sits at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, rendering its facility and employees vulnerable to the brewing Category 4 storm. As Helene barreled toward land, Mike Thompson, president and CEO of AdventHealth's Southeast Region, and Bill Miller, St. Luke's board of trustees chair at the time, had a difficult decision to make. If they abandoned the transaction, the hospital would be left to weather the storm without the resources or support of a larger partner. If they went through with it, they would have to abandon the traditional playbook.AdventHealth—a 54-hospital system spanning nine states, headquartered in Altamonte Springs, Florida—had planned to send human resources, IT and administrative employees to Columbus. Alas, Thompson told Newsweek, 'putting 50 people into a natural disaster is not a great plan.' The transition team would have to work remotely.The storm also raised new budget concerns for AdventHealth. Helene would strike on Thursday, September 26, and the transition was scheduled for the following Tuesday, October 1—so the hospital's condition was in question.'It was not ideal, because we're taking financial responsibility for an asset, and we didn't know what condition it would be in,' Thompson said. 'Anytime you're running in a natural disaster, you're going to have poor financial performance.'But there weren't many alternatives. St.
HURRICANE HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT ADVENTHEALTH ST. LUKE's HOSPITAL
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