Discussions begin on future of hospital partnership

PRINCETON — Representatives of Perry Memorial Hospital, the city of Princeton and OSF HealthCare met Aug. 20 for the first time to begin the conversation on partnership options.

According to a news release, discussion began as each organization shared its goals, and provided an explanation of why each party was interested in a more defined relationship. Having similar and definable goals is an important first step in considering whether a partnership would be feasible, the release stated.

Perry and the city of Princeton together have the goal to maintain and grow quality health care services, to sustain services over the long run, to benefit Princeton and the surrounding communities economically, and to improve care through access to technology.

OSF representatives also shared they have a desire to keep local health care services available with an organization that is positive, high quality, and has the desire to work closely with the community.

Management agreement approaches with a range of options were discussed. A list of specific services beneficial to Perry and the community were reviewed and prioritized.

The next step, the release stated, includes reviewing model options, which will take up to 90 days to complete and will be replicated for each partnership option explored by the Perry/City and OSF representative teams.

“Our first meeting was productive,” said Annette Schnabel, president and CEO of Perry Memorial Hospital.

“We look forward to continuing partnership options conversation on how best to meet our communities of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam counties’ future health care needs,” she stated

Conversations are ongoing, and updates will be provided monthly through local media outlets, the release stated.

Perry Memorial Hospital is a municipally-owned hospital and is a 25-bed critical access facility and has a workforce of more than 370 people. June 17, 2020, will mark the hospital’s centennial celebration of providing health care to the service area.

OSF HealthCare is an integrated health system owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, headquartered in Peoria. OSF HealthCare employs nearly 21,000 employees in 126 locations, including 13 hospitals (nine acute care, four critical access) and two colleges of nursing throughout Illinois and Michigan.

Its physician network employs more than 1,200 primary care, specialist physicians and advanced practice providers. OSF HealthCare operates an extensive network of home health services; owns PointCore Inc., comprised of health-care-related businesses; and OSF HealthCare Foundation, the philanthropic arm for the organization.