Healthy cooperation: Indiana hospitals get together to improve care.

• Author: Mayer, Kathy
• Position: Health Care

Residents in Seymour can get dialysis treatment without traveling. Jennings County is no longer considered a medically under-sewed area. Nashville recently opened a new medical office building. And Fort Wayne has a new 86-bed hospital, a joint venture between a hospital and physicians. These and more improved health-care choices in both rural and urban areas around the state signal a new cooperative pattern in healthcare delivery.

Beyond simple acquisitions and mergers, in a growing trend throughout Indiana providers are creating joint ventures, partnerships, collaborations and other tailored agreements. These cooperative approaches have made for some complex agreements, health-care administrators say. But they agree that they're working, and they predict the trend will continue.

Following are details of some of the state's prominent health-care systems and cooperative arrangements.

CARDINAL HEALTH SYSTEM

With 3,500 employees and an eight-county service area targeted to grow, Cardinal Health System in Muncie is among the state's largest health-care providers. It includes ownership of Ball Memorial Hospital, managing agreements for Jay County and Blackford County hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, occupational medicine, rehabilitation, home health care and clinic care.

Recent expansions reflecting the industry's cooperative trend are the Ball Cancer Center at Henry County Memorial Hospital, and dialysis centers at Henry County and St. Vincent Randolph County hospitals.

"We're like a conductor in an orchestra, where you have the woodwind section, the brass section, the string section, and when you put them all together, you have a symphony," says Robert Curtis, president and chief executive officer of Cardinal Health System. "We've put hospitals, physician practices, rehabilitation and insurance products all together. Each plays different roles. And together they provide the people of east-central Indiana with a continuum of health-care services."

Curtis says health-care providers are learning lessons such other industries as airlines and auto manufacturers have learned through the years. "They sought out collaborative relationships on a variety of different levels with other manufacturers and industries, and they have succeeded in those partnerships. We may compete at certain levels, but we also see opportunities to bring our common experience together and share in the rewards and risks."

Cardinal's next launch is CHS Healthcare Solutions. "This concept offers local health-care providers an opportunity to acquire ownership interest in some of the services we provide in their community," Curtis explains. "We offer an equity position, ownership interest, We think we can coordinate services better if local providers get to share in the rewards as well as the risk."

CENTRAL INDIANA HEALTH SYSTEM

The success of Central Indiana Health System, now encompassing 14 hospitals and other health-care facilities in 44 Indiana counties, can be attributed to its...