By Wally Kennedy

wkennedy@joplinglobe.com

St. John’s Regional Medical Center is now part of the Sisters of Mercy Health System, of St. Louis.

The anticipated transfer of ownership from Catholic Health Initiatives, based in Denver, to the Sisters of Mercy was announced Monday.

The move was signaled in late September when the Sisters of Mercy — not Catholic Health Initiatives — chose Gary Pulsipher to head St. John’s when the transfer was complete. Pulsipher is a former St. John’s administrator with ties to the area.

Now what?

What is not known is what happens next. Could additional belt tightening and job consolidation be in the cards?

Pulsipher on Monday said meetings were held Friday with 500 to 600 employees of St. John’s to let them know the transfer was imminent. Many of them wanted to know how the transfer might affect their employment.

“We told them that every person who is in good standing on Friday with St. John’s is automatically in good standing with the Sisters of Mercy as of midnight Saturday,” he said.

Pulsipher said there is a possibility that some jobs will move from St. John’s in Joplin to Sisters of Mercy operations in Springfield and St. Louis.

“But that’s months down the road before we get to that,” he said. “There will be some job consolidations in the future, but there is also the possibility that some jobs will be created as we coordinate services with the (Sisters of Mercy) hospitals in Independence and Fort Scott (Kan.).”

The Sisters of Mercy, he said, plans to bring an entire group of services to Joplin that St. John’s does not now have. The Sisters of Mercy, he said, will be able to do more than the former owner because it has operations that span the length of the Interstate 44 corridor from St. Louis to Springfield to Joplin. St. John’s was CHI’s only operation in Missouri.

“I am confident that St. John’s and the Joplin community will benefit from the strong, regional infrastructure and physician relationships Mercy has developed over the past decade,” Pulsipher said.

Shelly Hunter, vice president of business development and strategy at St. John’s, said the Sisters of Mercy will bring electronic medical records to St. John’s. It also will bring strategic partnerships to the mix and give Joplin patients access to a wider range of specialties. The new owner, she said, also will put St. John’s in a stronger position in the managed care market.

Change expected

Dick Weber, a member of the board of directors at St. John’s, said Monday that the board will have its first meeting under the new ownership on Friday. Weber said change is expected because that’s what happens when a new owner takes over.

“Have you ever heard of changes not happening when a new owner takes over?” he asked. “But I have no idea what those changes might be. I expect it will be business as usual on Friday.

“What I do know is that they (the Sisters of Mercy) are thrilled with the quality of the people who work here.”

Weber said some job changes can be expected at St. John’s because of the transfer of ownership. He noted that St. John’s within the past year eliminated about 160 full-time positions and cut programs with the overall aim of saving $30 million in expenses.

The Sisters of Mercy, he said, is a Missouri-based system, “so they understand the Midwest and Southwest Missouri. They understand our needs. That is a distinct advantage for us as an institution, and for our physicians, staff and patients.”

St. Louis base

Mercy is based in St. Louis, and operates 19 other hospitals, physician practices, outpatient clinics, health plans, and related health and human services in a seven-state area.

“Mercy is delighted to become part of the Joplin community,” said Lynn Britton, Mercy president and CEO, in a statement released Monday.

“We have deep roots and a strong history of service in communities throughout Southwest Missouri and surrounding states. In addition to being a good match geographically for Mercy, we and St. John’s share a rich heritage as health ministries founded by the Sisters of Mercy.”

St. John’s was founded under the Sisters of Mercy Omaha Congregation and was part of that group until 1996, when CHI took over. St. John’s and Sisters of Mercy have a common ancestry in Catherine McAuley, the founder of Sisters of Mercy.





About St. John’s

St. John’s Regional Medical Center, one of Joplin’s oldest continuously operated businesses, is a 367-bed hospital serving 19 counties in Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas. With 2,300 employees, it is one of Joplin’s largest employers.