News

  Cover The Uninsured Week, May 10-16, 2004
  A Progress Report on the collaborative discussions between Altoona
   Hospital and Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital
  Hospitals take important step toward joining to enhance community
   health care
  Radiation oncologist joins Cancer Center
  Blood drive event will benefit young man with cancer
  Hospital talks seek the best health care system possible
  Hospital Collaboration Talks Moving Forward
  HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance contract with Bon Secours

“Lord, Keep Us Well”

This prayer has real meaning to the nearly 44 million individuals in the United States who lack health insurance. Who are they? Maybe not who you think. Eight out to 10 individuals are from working families and over 8 million are children.

The consequences of being uninsured are grave. The uninsured are hospitalized 50 percent more often than the insured for “avoidable conditions” such as pneumonia. The vast majority of the uninsured simply go without needed care until an illness can no longer be ignored. Sometimes that delay can be deadly. Frequently, the consequences to a family’s financial health can be equally as devastating.

In keeping with our Mission of compassion, healing and liberation, Bon Secours Health System has joined a coalition of other concerned organizations to raise awareness and craft solutions to this crisis. In support of this initiative, during the week of May 10 through 16, all Local Systems and the Health System Office will participate in the national “Cover the Uninsured Week,” sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. During this week across the Health System, a variety of activities will be conducted to help educate our communities and government officials about this critical issue – to share the faces of the uninsured, to educate on the physical and financial consequences and to explain how this issue affects every American.

Look for more information on how you can support this initiative as the week approaches!

March 30, 2004

A Progress Report on the collaborative discussions between Altoona Hospital and Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital

What’s new
The boards of Altoona Hospital and Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital have taken a significant and important step toward a merger of the hospitals into one system intending to better serve the health care needs of the community. This step was the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding and Term Sheet.

The documents, which are non-binding, set forth the governance structure and certain operational and ethical standards that would apply to the combined system. In coming months, the hospitals expect to finalize the terms of the proposed merger with a Definitive Agreement.

The boards took action based on the unanimous recommendation of their joint Collaboration Steering Committee and a full and thorough review of the information gathered over the past year by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, an independent consulting firm, working with hospital administrators, physicians and staff.

Key benefits identified by the Collaboration Steering Committee
The Collaboration Steering Committee was guided in its discussions by a vision to:

• Create one of the finest health care systems in Pennsylvania

• Enhance current services

• Add services

• Provide new, leading-edge technologies

• Maintain a reasonable cost for health care in the community

• Fill gaps in health care to create a healthier community

The studies commissioned by the Steering Committee identified numerous benefits to the community from a merger, including:

• The opportunity to improve the quality of clinical services for the community. Providing the best possible clinical care for patients was the first and foremost consideration for the committee.

• Greater access to more physicians because of one unified medical staff.

• Savings of more than $30 million in health care expenses in the first five years of combined operations through elimination of duplicate capital purchases, cooperation on service-related and technical expenses, and efficiency improvements in all operations.

• A streamlined clinical delivery system for patients, making it less confusing and easier to receive care, especially in cases where an insurer currently restricts access to one facility or the other.

• The opportunity to consider new or expanded services in many clinical areas.

• Minimal job reductions. In a merger, most job reductions would likely be achieved through staff attrition.

Overall, the study found that collaboration between the two city hospitals was long overdue and that working together would go a long way toward ensuring a healthy, independent, community hospital for the community’s future.

A look at the proposal
Under this proposed merger:

• There would be a new hospital system operating on two campuses — an Altoona Hospital campus and a Bon Secours-Holy Family campus.

• A new board of 18 trustees (nine selected by Altoona Hospital and nine selected by Bon Secours) would govern the two-campus hospital.

• Local control by community trustees would be ensured.

• Acute-care services would be delivered on both campuses. Religious directives of the Catholic Church would be maintained on the Bon Secours-Holy Family campus.

• James W. Barner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Altoona Hospital, would become President and Chief Executive Officer of the two-campus hospital. Daniel S. Duggan, Chief Executive Officer of Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital, would become Executive Vice President.

• One unified medical staff would serve both campuses. Subject to normal credentialing, physicians now practicing at either hospital would be granted medical privileges at both hospital campuses.

• All related corporations of Central Pennsylvania Health Services Corp. and Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital would be a part of the new health care system.

What’s next?
It is important to remember that this is a proposed merger. The development and signing of the Definitive Agreement, as well as the regulatory review, could take several months.

During this time, the community (including employees at the two hospitals) will see no changes. But both hospitals will educate the community to ensure an understanding of this proposal and process.

The hospitals have established a toll-free telephone number for any community resident or hospital employee to ask questions. The telephone number is 1-800-368-2273.

As this process continues, the hospitals will keep the community informed about significant developments through future Progress Reports and other means.

A historical perspective for context and background
Included to provide an understanding of the process from its beginnings

In April 2003, the leadership of Altoona Hospital and Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital began talks on potential collaboration. The goal was to determine if there were opportunities to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of health care services in the Central Pennsylvania region.

The community boards of Altoona Hospital and Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital appointed members to a Collaboration Steering Committee. The respected, independent consulting firm, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, facilitated its discussions and provided an objective and thorough assessment of the committee’s work.

The talks progressed through several phases. Phase One analyzed the potential benefits of collaboration. It identified excellent opportunities to eliminate duplicate costs for medical equipment, supplies and expensive technology, and opportunities for new and enhanced health care services for the community.

Phase One also showed that the net effect on jobs from any merger would likely be minimal, and any reductions could be accomplished largely through attrition.

Based on the findings in Phase One, the talks progressed to Phase Two, with significant involvement from a Physician Advisory Committee drawn from both hospitals. Phase Two examined the current and future demand for health care services in the community, and identified services that should be developed; services that could be enhanced and/or expanded for the community’s benefit, and unmet health needs that could be addressed by an enhanced health care system, creating a healthier community.

All clinical areas were evaluated, especially cardiac services, cancer care, rehabilitation, inpatient and outpatient surgical services, behavioral health and women’s health. Teams also reviewed clinical services such as pharmacy, radiology and the laboratory. This analysis formed the basis for a Clinical Distribution Plan to eliminate duplication of services wherever possible and appropriate.

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March 30, 2004

Hospitals take important step toward joining to enhance community health care

ALTOONA, Pa. — The boards of Altoona Hospital and Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital have taken a significant and important step toward a merger of the hospitals into one system intending to better serve the health care needs of the community. This step was the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding and Term Sheet.

The documents, which are non-binding, set forth the governance structure and certain operational and ethical standards that would apply to the combined system. In coming months, the hospitals expect to finalize the terms of the proposed merger with a Definitive Agreement.

Leaders of both hospitals called the documents a visionary step for local health care.

The proposed merger will be reviewed by regulatory agencies, a process that could take several months. During this time, the hospitals will continue to operate separately and independently of each other as they do today.

The Term Sheet provides for the operation of the hospitals under one corporate entity, with two operating campuses — an Altoona Hospital campus and a Bon Secours-Holy Family campus. The current health care affiliates of each hospital would become affiliates of the combined system.

The Term Sheet also provides that a new board of 18 directors (nine selected by Altoona Hospital and nine selected by Bon Secours would govern the combined system.

Under the proposal, James W. Barner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Altoona Hospital, would become President and Chief Executive Officer of the two-campus hospital system. Daniel S. Duggan, Chief Executive Officer of Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital, would become Executive Vice President.

One unified medical staff would serve both campuses. Subject to normal credentialing, physicians now practicing at either hospital would be granted medical privileges at both hospital campuses.

Studies commissioned by a joint Collaboration Steering Committee, drawn from the boards and medical staffs of both hospitals, identified numerous benefits from a merger, including the opportunity to improve the quality of clinical services, the opportunity to consider new or expanded services in many clinical areas and the opportunity to achieve significant cost savings.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers, an international consultant with extensive experience in hospital collaborations, estimates five-year savings from the merger at more than $32 million, including more than $21 million from elimination of duplicated costs and more than $11 million in capital avoidance.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers also proposed a clinical distribution plan to be used as a roadmap for providing services on the two campuses. The proposal would put behavioral medicine, an orthopedics center of excellence (inpatient and outpatient), medical-surgical, inpatient rehabilitation and transitional care at the Bon Secours-Holy Family campus. The Altoona Hospital campus would offer cardiac services, neurosciences, OB-GYN, oncology, trauma, pediatrics, medical-surgical, long-term acute care and wound care.

Hospital leaders said the agreement would enable a bright future for health care in the community, while preserving important characteristics of the hospitals.

“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to the Altoona area,” Chris Carney, president and CEO of Bon Secours Health System Inc. “As a team, we can provide superior health care at a reasonable cost to the people we serve in Blair and all surrounding counties.”

“The agreement ensures the continuance of Catholic acute health care in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown,” said Sr. Anne Lutz, C.B.S., senior vice president of sponsorship for Bon Secours Health System Inc. “Bon Secours-Holy Family will remain a Catholic acute-care hospital following the Ethical and Religious Directives of the Catholic Church.”

“This agreement is a promise to the people of this community that their hospitals will provide them with the best health care possible,” added James W. Barner, president and chief executive officer of Altoona Hospital. “The staff of both hospitals will work hard to realize the vision of our boards.”

“This proposal offers a new and exciting direction for both hospitals in our community,” agreed Daniel S. Duggan, chief executive officer of Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital. “Because we will be working in the same direction, we will greatly enhance the potential for local health care services to expand and improve.”

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February 19, 2004

Radiation oncologist joins Cancer Center

Bernard R. Rogers, M.D., a radiation oncologist, has joined the Regional Cancer Center at Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital. He has extensive training in high-dose brachytherapy for head and neck, lung, breast, gynecological and skin tumors. Dr. Rogers, who is board certified, completed his residency in radiation oncology at the University of Minnesota Hospital in Minneapolis. Most recently he was medical director of Chesapeake Regional Cancer Center in Charlotte Hall, Md., and Maryland General Cancer Center in Baltimore. He also worked in radiation oncology at Centre Community Hospital, now Mount Nittany Medical Center, in State College and was director of brachytherapy for Oncology Services in State College. His professional memberships include the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology and the American Brachytherapy Society. Dr. Rogers joins Dr. Shabbir Ahmad, medical oncologist, and a dedicated team of professional cancer care specialists in the fully accredited Regional Cancer Center, which has 25 years of experience in cancer education, prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

February 12, 2004

Blood drive event will benefit young man with cancer

The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive and bone marrow testing from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 6, at Bishop Guilfoyle High School.

The event is for the benefit of Josh Hanlon, who was diagnosed with cancer late last year. Josh is the son of William and the late Dr. Marianne M. Hanlon, who died in 2002 at the age of 45 from ovarian cancer.

Josh, a freshman at Villanova University, has myelodysplasia blood syndrome, a condition in which the bone marrow makes new but deformed and underdeveloped blood cells. He is receiving chemotherapy and transfusions, and faces a bone marrow transplant. Donors can donate blood and/or join the National Marrow Registry or get tested for it.

While walk-in blood donations are welcome, those interested in participating in the bone marrow drive should call Georgette Ostinowsky at the Red Cross at 1-800-542-5663, extension 2706. Once you've made an appointment, a National Marrow Registry pre-registration package will be sent to you.

To join the National Marrow Registry, you must be between 18 and 60. Each person has about a one in 1,000 chance of having a marrow match. For more information, log on to www.marrow.org.

There is a fee of $65 for joining the National Marrow Registry, but family and friends of Josh along with Bishop Guilfoyle High School Student Council are raising money to defray those costs. Those interested in contributing to this fund can send donations to: American Red Cross Blood Donation Center, Josh Hanlon Blood Drive, Attention: Sylvia Lewis, 317 E. Pleasant Valley Blvd., Altoona, PA 16602.

February 9, 2004

Hospital talks seek the best health care system possible

By James W. Barner and Daniel S. Duggan

In April 2003, we announced to the community that discussions were under way regarding potential collaboration between Altoona Hospital and Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital.

We knew from past efforts that we would face many challenges. Our hope was that having learned from the past, we could renew our efforts and establish a meaningful dialogue on how to provide the best possible health care for this community.

Perhaps the most significant lesson we learned from previous efforts was the importance of answering one main question: Would collaboration provide opportunities to increase the effectiveness, efficiency and quality of health care services for the residents of Central Pennsylvania?

Thus far, we are encouraged by the progress of the current talks.

After six months of close scrutiny, our consulting firm of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, a highly respected and experienced national expert on hospital integration, told us that collaboration by the two city hospitals could offer many benefits to this region’s residents.

These benefits corresponded with the goals of our Collaboration Steering Committee, a task force of board members and physicians from each hospital who are guiding the discussion process. Their goals include:

• Creating one of the finest, high-quality health care systems in Pennsylvania

• Enhancing current services * Adding new services that could not be provided otherwise

• Providing new, leading-edge technologies

• Maintaining a reasonable cost for health care in the community

• Filling gaps in care to create a healthier community

Based on the PriceWaterhouseCoopers findings, the Steering Committee has moved the collaboration discussions into Phase Two. In this phase, teams of physicians, managers, nurses and support staff from both hospitals — a total of more than 60 professionals — are reviewing community needs and demographic trends for their clinical services. They are exploring how working together may provide an opportunity to improve, expand or offer new related services to the community. Phase Two is progressing on schedule.

Once these teams complete their work, the Collaboration Steering Committee will make a recommendation to the full boards of both hospitals and their respective parent corporations.

As this process continues, it’s important to note that those entrusted with the decision-making responsibility in these collaboration discussions share the community’s interests and concerns. These decision makers are community-minded board members, physicians and health care leaders who live and work here; they have parents, children and grandchildren here, and want only the best for them and for your families for generations to come.

These decision makers have many years of experience and knowledge in dealing with the issues and challenges of today’s health care environment — declining reimbursements, personnel shortages, a rising demand for services and the malpractice crisis. These issues threaten to erode our health care availability and quality — unless we do something about them.

The decision makers guiding the discussions have seen managed care take away people’s choices of hospitals and doctors. They know how much both hospitals mean to this community and they want both to continue providing meaningful acute-care services.

They know that any new health care system which might evolve must be governed by a local board and managed by experienced, proven leaders who will ensure continuity and success.

They want to continue to provide good jobs for the local economy and are heartened by the consultant's finding that if collaboration does occur, job reductions would be minimal, accomplished mostly through attrition. Likewise, they are encouraged by the possibility of new medical services providing new jobs.

Most of all, these decision makers want the discussions to be limited to nothing other than the question of whether the community can benefit by a potential collaboration.

The current discussions, then, are born of a visionary notion. Instead of brawling over the loyalties of patients, physicians and health insurance providers, we believe it is time to support both hospitals in redirecting their expertise and resources toward investigating new ways of providing the highest-quality, most advanced health care for our community.

We thank the community leaders who are guiding these discussions for their service. And we look forward to keeping everyone informed of our progress toward our shared community goal.

Mr. Barner is president and chief executive officer of Altoona Hospital; Mr. Duggan is chief executive officer of Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital.

November 13, 2003

Hospital Collaboration Talks Moving Forward
Steering Committee Identifies Initial Areas for Review

ALTOONA, Pa. — The Joint Steering Committee from Altoona Hospital and Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital has identified the initial clinical service areas to be reviewed in Phase Two of the ongoing collaboration discussions. The Joint Steering Committee includes physicians and board members from both hospitals.

All clinical areas will be evaluated, but the initial review will focus on:

• Cardiac services

• Cancer care services

• Rehabilitation services

• Inpatient and outpatient surgical services

• Behavioral health services

• Women’s health services

Additionally, teams will be formed to review clinical services such as pharmacy, radiology and the laboratory.

A team of physicians, management personnel, nurses and support staff from both hospitals will conduct each clinical service area review. Each team will review community needs and demographic trends in their clinical area and determine how working together could provide an opportunity to improve, expand or offer new related services to the community.

Team meetings will conclude by the end of December.

The work of each clinical service team will support the Joint Steering Committee’s goals of:

• Creating one of the finest health care systems in Pennsylvania

• Enhancing current services

• Adding services

• Providing new, leading edge technologies

• Maintaining a reasonable cost for health care in the community

• Filling gaps in care to create a healthier community

This phase also involves significant input from the Physician Advisory Committee, which includes physician representatives from both hospitals, who bring crucial guidance and expertise to the process.

“This is a critical stage in which we ask how the two hospitals can provide better care in the coming years collaboratively rather than separately,” said Daniel S. Duggan, chief executive officer of Bon Secours-Holy Family. “Our own people are the best ones to tell us that, and they will.”

“I have full confidence in the quality of people we have on our medical staff and in our clinical areas,” said James W. Barner, president and chief executive officer of Altoona Hospital. “They will help us arrive at the best possible means of providing care to the community as we move into the future.”

The leaderships of both hospitals, including their community Boards and members of the Steering Committee, have established two essentials that would be part of any potential collaborative agreement:

1. Both Altoona Hospital and Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital would offer substantive and meaningful acute-care services on both medical campuses.

2. Any health care system which might result would be controlled, and the governance for it provided, by local community leadership.

As they did in October, both CEOs said the community can be assured that, throughout the collaborative discussions, significant developments will be shared regarding the Steering Committee’s efforts.

The Steering Committee agreed earlier that collaboration may provide significant opportunities to enhance the quality and depth of health care services delivered to the Central Pennsylvania region.

The Committee, appointed when collaboration talks began in April, based its recommendations on a report of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the highly respected national consulting firm, which has been retained to facilitate discussion, analyze the benefits of collaboration, and provide consultation services regarding the clinical services review.

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News Release

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kendall Marcocci
Director of Communications
HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance
717-540-6746
kmarcocci@cvty.com

Contact: David Cuzzolina
Director of Marketing and Communications
Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital
814-949-4108
david_cuzzolina@bshsi.com

HEALTHAMERICA AND HEALTHASSURANCE CONTRACT WITH BON SECOURS-HOLY FAMILY HOSPITAL

Altoona and Harrisburg, Pa. – November 11, 2003 – Executing a long-term relationship for the benefit of members in central and western Pennsylvania, HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance have signed a three-year agreement with Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital effective immediately. Under the contract, Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital has rejoined the HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance network as a participating provider for select employer groups. The new agreement extends through September 2006.

Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital has 182 licensed beds and offers extensive outpatient services, high-tech critical care units, medical/surgical units, state-of-the-art surgical suites and several centers of excellence. The hospital serves residents of central and western Pennsylvania covering the counties of Blair, Bedford, Cambria, Centre,Huntingdon, and Clearfield. As a center for teaching and education, the hospital is affiliated with several colleges and universities.

“We are pleased to enter into a relationship with Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital,” said Francis S. Soistman, Jr., president and chief executive officer of HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance. “Bon Secours shares our vision to provide access to high quality and affordable health care services with a personal touch to citizens of the region. Employers and their employees expect choice in hospital and physician services. Bringing Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital back into the HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance network responds to this business and personal-choice need.”

“Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital has a long-standing commitment to provide quality care for the people of our community, and we are confident that HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance share our dedication to excellence,” said Daniel Duggan, chief executive officer of Bon Secours-Holy Family Regional Health System. “Offering access to HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance represents another step toward our continued commitment to delivering quality health care to the community.”

About HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance
HealthAmerica Pennsylvania, Inc., has a 28-year record in managed care. HealthAmerica, HealthAssurance Pennsylvania, Inc., and affiliate companies cover over 680,000 members in Pennsylvania and Ohio through HMO, POS, PPO, Medicaid, and Medicare+Choice plans. In addition, HealthAmerica earned an "Excellent" Accreditation for its HMO plan and HealthAssurance earned an "Excellent” Accreditation for the HealthAssurance POS by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to measuring the quality of America's health care. With corporate offices in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance provide managed health care products and services to over 10,000 employers in Pennsylvania and Ohio. For more information, visit HealthAmerica’s Web site at www.healthamerica.cvty.com.

HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance Mission
“To be the leader in our markets by providing quality, accessible, affordable, and diversified health care benefits and services.”

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