Physician-Owned Hospital to Open in Dayton in September

DAYTON, Ohio --  The board of MedicalCenter at Elizabeth Place today announces that it will open a 26-bed physician-owned hospital on the site of the former St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Dayton. The hospital, with four operating rooms, will employ more than 80 people and open in September.

The hospital will emphasize patient-focused care and serve the greater Dayton community with the latest, most advanced medical procedures, including general surgery, orthopedic surgery, GI, ophthalmology, gynecology, neurosurgery, urology, and diagnostic imaging. Sixty area physicians own MedicalCenter at Elizabeth Place and Regent Surgical Health, a Chicago-based developer of surgery centers and surgical hospitals, is a minority owner.

“Medical Center at Elizabeth Place will allow community doctors to return to healthcare  as it used to be: personal, compassionate care in a patient-focused setting,” says Dr. John Fleishman, board president. “By allowing physicians to run the hospital, we can put the needs of the patient first and offer quality healthcare that is delivered efficiently and cost  effectively with less bureaucracy.”

The opening of the Medical Center at Elizabeth Place will continue the comeback of the  site formerly occupied by St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, which closed in 2000. “By opening this physician-owned hospital, we are helping to restore a longtime asset to the community and offering more choices for healthcare,” says Tamme Hafer, CEO of Medical Center at Elizabeth Place. “Because we are run by physicians, we will take care of the entire community, regardless of insurance or the ability to pay.”

While this is the first physician-owned hospital in Dayton, others are opening across the country. Physician-owned hospitals benefit patients, physicians, communities and the healthcare industry. Patients receive superior care, physicians have more control over patient care, communities enjoy economic growth and healthcare facilities improve their performance because patients have more choices.

According to Michael Maves, CEO of the American Medical Association, physician-owned specialty hospitals offer improved, cost-effective patient care. The American Surgical Hospital Association has reported findings from a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services survey(1) that documents the advantages of physician-owned hospitals. For example, patients have lower mortality and complication rates, receive more amenities and enjoy a better nurse-patient ratio than at general hospitals.

Physician-owned hospitals also can help communities become centers for healthcare  excellence. The opportunity to be involved with a physician-owned hospital attracts top  quality surgeons in high-demand specialties.

Overall, the presence of physician-owned hospitals results in improved healthcare choices and does not negatively impact general hospitals. A study by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission(2) found that the profitability of general hospitals remained stable over time when physician-owned specialty hospitals exist in the same market.

References:

1. “Study of Physician-Owned Specialty Hospitals Required in Section 507(c)(2) of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003,” (HHS Study) by Michael O. Leavitt, Secretary of Health and Human Services