Cox, Burrell agree to board restructure

CoxHealth and Burrell Behavioral Health recently altered their affiliation by agreeing to establish an independent board for Burrell, which expanded into mid-Missouri early last year.

The two Springfield-based health care providers formed their symbiotic relationship 14 years ago, when Burrell became CoxHealth's exclusive provider of outpatient behavioral health services in a seven-county area in southwest Missouri. Cox, in turn, contracted with Burrell to provide inpatient psychiatric care for mental health patients.

"It was primarily in response to a mutual need," said Todd Schaible, president and CEO of Burrell. "Cox very much needed to have a network of behavioral health services in the face of - what didn't come to pass - the capitated plans."

Under the capitated model espoused by the Clinton Administration in the early 1990s, health care providers would have received fixed prepayments per patient for medical services delivered to a particular group of patients.

CoxHealth President and CEO Bob Bezanson said the hospital's relationship with Burrell has matured through the years, with a major "tipping point" occurring in early 2007.

In January of that year, Burrell acquired University Behavioral Health at the University of Missouri-Columbia for about $682,000. Two months later, Burrell took the reins of a university-based outpatient network that serves a 10-county area with two clinics in Columbia and eight others throughout Mid-Missouri.

"That's well outside of Cox's normal service area," Schaible noted.

In light of the larger geographic footprint, Schaible and Bezanson agreed last year that Burrell should create an independent 12-person board in line with the not-for-profit organization's expanded territory.

"Our board of governors changes from one that was interlocked with Cox to one that is more reflective of the significantly growing community that we're serving," Schaible said.

The process of seating new board members will occur during the next year, Schaible said, adding that the panel's core will consist of individuals who served on the board prior to Burrell's affiliation with Cox in 1994. A transition team will be led by William D. Sheppard of SRC Holdings Corp.; Fred Hall of Hall, Ansley, Rodgers & Sweeney PC; and Cliff Brown of Carnahan, Evans, Cantwell & Brown PC.

Another change from years past: Schaible will no longer manage inpatient psychiatric care at Cox as stipulated in the original affiliation. Bezanson said those responsibilities have been transferred to Dr. John Duff, senior vice president of hospital services for CoxHealth.

Bezanson said he and Schaible never discussed the prospect of the two health care institutions parting ways.

"That wouldn't make a lot of sense," Bezanson said. "There's a lot of synergy between the two organizations. ... We both wanted to have the foresight to transition to something that makes sense."

Schaible said he's confident that Burrell made the right decision to acquire the behavioral health network in mid-Missouri and to subsequently revisit its affiliation with Cox.

"One of the signs of a good relationship is that it's able to change over time," he said. "A good relationship is able to adapt to the changing needs of the partners. That's what we've done. ... I personally think (the) relationship has become stronger as a result of our respective abilities to change."

Schaible said the changes are "totally unrelated" to CoxHealth's recent $60 million settlement with the federal government over Medicaid billing practices and contracted physician payments.

"It doesn't have anything to do with us," he added.

Burrell now employs about 700 people at 27 locations in southwest and central Missouri. Its main campus - a 40,000-square-foot administrative and adult services building adjacent to a 47,000-square-foot center for child and adolescent development - is at 1300 E. Bradford Parkway in south Springfield.

Schaible said Burrell has projected $40 million in revenues for fiscal 2009, which starts Oct. 1, with about $30 million budgeted for payroll and benefits.

In 2006, Burrell was among three finalists for a Springfield Business Journal Economic Impact Award in the services category - an honor that went to St. John's Health System.[[In-content Ad]]