MU Health Care officials last week cited limited space and a need to update infrastructure as factors in its effort to buy St. Mary's Hospital in Jefferson City and other Mid-Missouri facilities.
The way care is being delivered and the way hospitals are being paid for the care they provide are changing rapidly, Jesslyn Chew, the MU Health Care public relations manager, said in an email.
"We are faced with the growing need to expand our physical space and (Information Technology) infrastructure to accommodate our expanding services, programs and patient volumes," Chew said.
She responded to a number of questions Friday, a week after administrators at the Columbia-based health care provider and SSM Health issued statements to employees.
Jonathan Curtright, chief executive officer of MU Health Care, and Laura Kaiser, president and CEO of SSM Health, the St. Louis-based company that owns St. Mary's Hospital, notified employees Feb. 8 that while negotiations for the purchase of St. Mary's continue, the organizations have begun a new partnership.
"MU Health Care and Capital Region Medical Center, in collaboration with SSM Health St. Mary's - Jefferson City, are committed to expand procedural support and management for electrophysiology services," Curtright said in his statement. "With the addition of Hemant Godara, MD, and Richard Weachter, MD, who both have advanced fellowship training in heart rhythm management, more patients will have access to advanced cardiac arrhythmia services in Jefferson City."
MU Health Care and SSM Health announced in August they had been in exclusive negotiations to transfer ownership of the hospital and some other properties for some time.
The two entities are in the due-diligence phase of the purchase, in which both parties are looking at the potential sale to see how it fits into their missions.
MU Health Care already had a relationship with Capital Region Medical Center, Jefferson City's other hospital.
Because of inconsistent neurology coverage, in January, St. Mary's suspended its certification as a Level 2 Stroke Center, meaning it could provide a high level of care to a great number of patients experiencing trauma, stroke and heart attacks in which one of the heart's major arteries is blocked.
Level 2 hospitals can administer treatments, such as tissue plasminogen activator, the only FDA-approved treatment for specific strokes, and the patient can stay at the facility instead of being transferred to a higher-skilled facility.
SSM Health has not responded to questions regarding whether the partnership with MU will allow it to regain its Level 2 status.
Because of the change, the Cole County Ambulance Service said it would no longer be taking patients with stroke symptoms to St. Mary's Hospital. Capital Region remains a Level 2 Stroke Center.
"Talks are progressing positively with MU Health Care as we continue to work through the many complex details and logistics for the proposed transfer," Kaiser said in her statement to employees. "Given that negotiations are still underway, we expect this will require additional time."
Curtright's statement also reflected a need for more time. He said the negotiation is "complex work and is taking longer than expected."
The health care providers have not discounted the possibility of MU Health Care, St. Mary's Hospital and Capital Region cooperating on other "specialty services," Chew said.
She said the decision to try to buy the SSM Health properties was made independently of MU Health Care's effort to trim costs to maximize profits.
St. Mary's Hospital has operated in Jefferson City for more than 100 years. It opened a $200 million-plus, 375,000-square-foot facility at 2505 Mission Drive in 2014 - but soon ran into some financial difficulty. Online records on focusonhospitals.com show the hospital operated at a $20.9 million loss for the year ending 2016.
"It was considered within our overarching commitment to carefully evaluate all opportunities to ensure we can: be good stewards of our resources; continue strong financial performance and investment in our organizational priorities, including research and education; invest in the continued growth and development of our employees," Chew said, "and, ultimately, continue to carry out our mission to save and improve lives."