Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), Englewood, Colo., voted yesterday to integrate St. Catherine Hospital, Garden City, Kan., and St. Rose Ambulatory & Surgery Center, Great Bend, Kan., into Centura Health, Colorado’s largest health care network. The decision follows a unanimous recommendation from the St. Catherine, St. Rose and Centura Health boards of directors, and final approval from CHI.

The integration of the two Kansas-based facilities with Centura Health will unite all CHI hospitals in Colorado and Kansas into a single regional structure that leverages strengths and better serves Colorado and Kansas communities by delivering high-quality, affordable health care. The consolidation will benefit consumers throughout the region by facilitating shared best practices, linked systems of care, transparent exchanges of health records, and, ultimately, improved and more-consistent clinical quality across the two states and region.

Through this relationship, Great Bend and Garden City and their surrounding communities will maintain local community access to physician specialty services while improving the availability of physician specialty care through the Centura Health network.

Work on the integration will begin immediately and systems at St. Catherine and St. Rose will be transitioned to Centura Health in the coming months.

QUOTES:

• “Catholic Health Initiatives believes that aligning our facilities regionally will provide for a coordinated approach to improving the health of the communities we serve,” said Kevin Lofton, president and chief executive officer of Catholic Health Initiatives. “Centura Health has been a wonderful steward for CHI’s Colorado facilities and it has already extended its network of care into Kansas, so it’s an ideal partner for St. Catherine and St. Rose.”

• “The integration of Centura Health and St. Catherine Hospital and St. Rose Ambulatory & Surgery Center will bring together the strength and experience of hospitals and providers in Colorado and Kansas to build a more effective, more efficient health system,” said Gary Campbell, president and CEO of Centura Health. “Together, we can create an integrated delivery network that improves health outcomes in the communities we serve, while also improving service, convenience and controlling costs, giving consumers optimal value.”

• “The affiliation with Centura Health, Colorado’s largest hospital and health care network, advances the strategic interests of both St. Catherine Hospital (Garden City) and St. Rose Ambulatory and Surgery Center (Great Bend) while remaining true to the heritage and the founding principles of both Catholic Health Initiatives and the Dominican Sisters of Peace,” said Scott Taylor, president and CEO, St. Catherine Hospital and St. Rose Ambulatory & Surgery Center. “We look forward to working with Centura on our shared mission and ministry to extend the healing ministry of Christ, create new systems of care and expand Centura’s presence in Kansas.”
• "Aligning with Centura Health gives St. Rose Ambulatory & Surgery Center the ability to deliver an increasingly high level of patient care right here in Great Bend by leveraging the clinical, technological and financial resources of a strong, regional, faith-based nonprofit health care system that practices the same core values that are the pillars of St. Rose," said Greg Bauer, chairman of the St. Rose Ambulatory & Surgery Center board of directors.
• “The mission and Catholic identity of St. Catherine and St. Rose has never wavered,” said Sister Peggy Martin, senior vice president, sponsorship and governance for Catholic Health Initiatives and a member of the Dominican Sisters community that founded both St. Catherine and St. Rose. “Although this integration is a change in oversight, these health care facilities will remain dedicated to serving their communities and to extending the healing ministry of Christ, ensuring the legacy of the founding Sisters for generations to come.”

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About Centura Health

Centura Health, Colorado’s health care leader, is focused on connecting Coloradans to affordable, world-class care in every corner of the state. Centura Health’s integrated statewide network includes 14 hospitals, seven senior living communities, medical clinics, affiliated partner hospitals, Flight For Life® Colorado, and home care and hospice services. Approximately 15,100 of the best hearts and minds in medicine, along with 6,000 physician partners, have access to the most technologically advanced tools available. For Coloradans, this means the top expertise and technology is right where you need it – close to where you are. We reach beyond hospital walls to connect with people at every stage of life to bring them life-enriching compassion and life-affirming hope; Connections that only Centura Health can make. For information on Centura Health or any of the facilities in our network, please visit www.centura.org.

About St. Catherine Hospital

As a 132 bed Joint Commission accredited regional health care center in Southwest Kansas we feel ahead of the curve in health care technology, innovations and patients. Our growing, active medical staff includes full time Hospitalists, as well as continued specialist services in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Critical Care, Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Occupational and Aviation Medicine, Otolaryngology, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Audiology, Pathology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Nephrology, Pulmonary Medicine, Infectious Disease, Radiology, General Surgery, and Urology. St. Catherine Hospital are responsible stewards to the communities served. Exceptional care, extraordinary people…it’s what makes the St. Catherine Hospital difference.  For more information, please visit www.stcath-hosp.org .

About St. Rose Ambulatory & Surgery Center
St. Rose Ambulatory & Surgery Center founded in 1902, when three doctors asked the Dominican Sisters to establish a hospital in the Great Bend area. St. Rose Ambulatory & Surgery Center, with its innovative six-story cloverleaf design, was dedicated on March 1, 1964. St. Rose ASC's state-of-the-art technologies include digital mammography, fully ACR accredited Imaging Services including 64-slice CT, accredited same-day surgery, cancer care, physician clinics, laboratory services, outpatient therapies (including physical, occupational, speech and respiratory), home health and hospice, and accredited sleep center. St. Rose Ambulatory & Surgery Center is committed to serving the health care needs of our communities. Go to www.stroseasc.org for more information.

About Catholic Health Initiatives

Catholic Health Initiatives is a national nonprofit health system with headquarters in Englewood, Colo. The faith-based system operates in 19 states and includes 81 hospitals; 40 long-term care, assisted- and residential-living facilities; two community health-services organizations; two accredited nursing colleges; and home health agencies. In fiscal year 2012, CHI provided more than $715 million in charity care and community benefit, including services for the poor, free clinics, education and research. With total annual revenues of more than $10.7 billion and approximately 86,000 employees, CHI ranks as the nation’s second-largest faith-based health system. For more information, visit www.catholichealthinitiatives.org. 

Note:  Scott Taylor, CEO of St. Catherine & St. Rose will be available via conference call @ 2:30pm CST today.  If you would like to join the call please contact Mark Mingenback @ 620-791-8858 for the call in number and access code.