A public hearing was held for Quincy (Ill.) Medical Group's $19.5 million ASC proposal Jan. 24, with officials from QMG and nearby Pittsfield, Ill.-based Blessing Health System debating the proposal at length, the Herald-Whig reports.
What you should know:
1. QMG said the surgery center will save patients about $4 million a year in facility fees, while BHS said the surgery center would cost the nonprofit hospital up to $41 million.
2. BHS also said the new surgery center would "derail" an existing surgery center partnership the two health groups have.
3. While QMG CEO Carol Brockmiller said there is genuine need for the surgery center. BHS CEO Maureen Kahn said it would do “devastating harm” to Blessing Health System.
4. BHS bought a QMG-owned surgery center in 2006 for $13 million. The hospital pays $1 million annually to QMG for rent and facility management. BHS said the surgery center operates at 50 percent utilization, and a new center would reduce that.
5. Ms. Kahn said BHS would have to cut up to 400 positions to absorb the lost revenue a new surgery center would cause.
6. Quincy Anesthesia Associates' Joseph Meyer, MD supported BHS' claim that the surgery center was not operating at capacity, saying it operates at 47 percent capacity.
7. The Illinois Health Care Facilities and Services Review Board received several letters supporting QMG's proposal.
8. Following the hearing, BHS held a separate press conference Feb. 5 to discuss QMG's proposal, local ABC and CBS affiliate KHQA reports. BHS reiterated several of the points it made at the approval hearing at the hearing and in a subsequent press release.
9. The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board is set to hold a final hearing on the project March 5.