Health system reorganization aims at statewide efficiency

New leaders are taking the reins for Sisters of Mercy Health System's regional and Springfield markets, and the personnel moves signal changes in the works for the St. Louis-based health system as a whole.

Sisters of Mercy is the parent organization of Springfield-based St. John's Health System, which in mid-November promoted Jon Swope to president and CEO. He previously served as executive vice president for the local health system.

At the same time Swope's promotion was announced, his predecessor, Kim Day, was tapped to step into an expanded role with Mercy as senior vice president of regional markets.

The new roles may have been expedited after Mercy on Nov. 1 officially took over operations at St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Day said, but their new roles - as well as other changes on the way in the next several months - are aimed at facilitating efficiency and growth both regionally and systemwide.

New professional roles

As president and CEO of St. John's Health System, Swope now oversees St. John's Hospital in Springfield; hospitals in Lebanon, Aurora, Cassville and Mountain View, and Berryville, Ark.; St. John's Clinic, which includes 70 regional locations; and area managed-care plans through St. John's Health Plans.

Swope said one of the goals he hopes to accomplish in the next six months is to finalize the leadership team that will work under him at St. John's Health System.

There will be some restructuring involved, he said, noting that officials aren't certain whether the executive vice president position he vacated will continue to exist.

Something that won't change, however, is a model developed about a year-and-a-half ago that pairs physicians with administrators during decision-making processes, Swope said.

"Those concepts of physician partnerships and working strong with our physicians to lead the organization is something that's going to continue," Swope said.

Day's regional responsibilities include the supervision of Mercy markets in Springfield, Joplin, Arkansas and Kansas.

The position Day now holds is a new one, but it's been in the works since spring, he said, adding that the recent acquisition of St. John's in Joplin created a perfect opportunity to transfer more responsibility to Swope.

In April, Mercy expanded Day's role to have more of a regional presence, while at the same time maintaining his position of president and CEO of St. John's in Springfield. Day said that made it difficult for him to devote adequate time to his regional duties.

Putting Mercy's divisions under regional supervision is part of a systemwide reorganization effort, Day said, noting that there are only two divisions that he doesn't supervise.

Mercy's St. Louis and Oklahoma markets are overseen by Denny DeNarvaez, also a senior vice president of regional markets for Mercy, Day said. He continues to report to Mercy Chief Operating Officer Mike McCurry, Mercy spokeswoman Barb Meyer said via e-mail.

Reasons to reorganize

While no other markets for Mercy expansion have been identified at this point, Day said leaders are on the lookout for additional growth opportunities.

"St. John's in Joplin was a great example of that, and ... as we continue to grow, we also need to have the leadership structure in place to be able to support that growth," Day said.

He noted, however, that Mercy plans to grow in the states and regions where it already has a presence.

"We have been building infrastructure with our supply chain, with our information system," Day said.

"We've been developing those over the past several years to position ourselves to be able to grow (and are) now in a position to be able to do that," he added.

Reorganization efforts, however, extend beyond management team changes to encompass new ways of improving systemwide efficiency.

In light of ongoing health care reform talks and health care costs, Day said efficiency is a key issue.

"We have to make certain that we are being extremely efficient as to how we provide our services," he added.

Swope said the use of electronic medical records is an example of how procedures can be implemented across multiple Mercy facilities for systemwide efficiency.

Making regional changes to improve efficiency is one of Day's main objectives in his new role, and he said he's identified 12 projects that he'd like to see put in place for his entire region.

One of those projects - a way to better manage congestive heart failure - was developed in Springfield.

Day said the next step is to replicate those methods in other Mercy/St. John's regional facilities.

"One of the things that we have to make sure we do, across Mercy, is that we leverage our opportunity and our ability to maintain cost at a very reasonable level," he said. "We believe that the way to leverage our infrastructure to actively help reduce the overall cost of care. That's our goal."[[In-content Ad]]