Michigan hospitals, especially our rural hospitals, are under great financial pressure now that the federal COVID subsidies are tapering. They are restructuring services and facilities to reduce costs and increase incomes as they get hammered by bond rating agencies:
Michigan system to scale back care at rural hospitals
By Alan Condon - September 27th, 2023Munson Healthcare, an eight-hospital system, has unveiled a three-year "transformation plan" that will reduce inpatient services in rural areas and increase services at its hospital in Traverse City, Mich., upnorthlive.com reported Sept. 27.
The regional care plan was designed to address the shift to outpatient care, staffing shortages and reimbursement rates that have failed to keep up with rising labor and supply costs.
Munson's transformation plan details various priorities, including regionalizing inpatient services, adopting a more patient-centric model, expanding its outpatient footprint, improving virtual care and elevating Munson Medical Center in Traverse City to a top-level specialty care center, so patients will not have to travel downstate for services such as critical care, oncology, stroke and cardiology. The health system also aims to transition to one EHR system by 2024.
"This is our opportunity to reinvent healthcare in Northern Michigan to better meet patient needs and keep care close to home," Munson President and CEO Ed Ness said, according to upnorthlive.com. "We spend a lot of time listening to feedback from our patients — they are asking us for an easier and more efficient patient experience; and more outpatient, virtual and primary care services, and this plan will achieve that."
In the east region, Otsego Memorial Hospital in Gaylord, Mich., will convert to a regional hospital with more specialized inpatient services, while Munson's hospitals in Charlevoix and Grayling will become community hospitals with an emphasis on outpatient services, according to the Traverse City Record-Eagle. In the south region, Munson Medical Center in Cadillac will serve as the regional hospital, while Manistee Hospital and Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital in Frankfort will become community hospitals.
All of the hospitals will continue to provide observation care and emergency and outpatient services, according to the health system.
No layoffs are expected as part of the transformation plan, but some job duties may shift based on service changes at facilities, according to the health system. Munson has about 7,500 employees and around 700 open positions.
OMH likely to add jobs in Munson transformation plan
By Paul Welitzkin - October 3, 2023
The Petoskey News-ReviewGAYLORD — Munson Healthcare's recently announced transformation initiative means one of Otsego County's largest employers is likely to add jobs.
Last week, Munson, Northern Michigan's largest health care provider, unveiled a three-year plan that will see Otsego Memorial Hospital (OMH) in Gaylord transition from a community hospital into a regional hospital where most inpatient services will be completed.
"OMH will need to retain our talented team and add employees/staff in order to care for a larger number of inpatient admissions, due to the nature of our regionalization strategy where surrounding communities may be coming to OMH for higher levels of care," hospital administrator Chris Squire told the Herald Times.
"We will continue to provide all of the inpatient and outpatient services that we currently have, but will be adding additional inpatient (acute care) beds along with a redesigned regional birthing center. Our capacity to treat more inpatients and those delivering babies from a wider geographic range will be expanded," Squire said.
Lisa McComb, executive director of the Otsego County Economic Alliance (OCEA), added that "OMH’s plans to add labor supports OCEA’s data that Otsego County continues to be a regional employment hub."
"We will need to come together as a community to provide resources such as housing and child care to support the continued regional workforce development in Otsego County," she said.
Currently, Munson employs about 675 in Northern Michigan and nearly 10 percent of those positions are vacant.
Officials said the goals of the regional care transformation plan are to adopt a more patient-centric model, expand Munson Healthcare's outpatient footprint, enhance virtual care, regionalize inpatient services and elevate Munson Medical Center in Traverse City to a high level specialty care provider.
The plan also calls for the Charlevoix and Grayling hospitals, Manistee and Frankfort’s Paul Oliver Hospital, to become community hospitals, primarily offering outpatient services. Munson Cadillac Hospital will become a regional facility like OMH.
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