Hospitals to study expanded collaboration

The two hospitals serving the Flathead Valley have created a joint task force to study how the facilities can expand on their collaborative efforts.

The announcement came Monday from the boards of North Valley Hospital and Kalispell Regional Healthcare.

North Valley CEO Jason Spring said the two hospitals already work together in many ways.

“But we feel some things could be facilitated easier if we work as closer partners,” Spring told the Pilot.

A press release said the joint effort comes at a time when hospitals not only locally but across the country are challenged by increasing costs to deliver quality health care while complying with increased regulations.

“It has become apparent to the governing boards that North Valley Hospital, Kalispell Regional Healthcare and the communities they serve can benefit from some form of collaboration to deliver quality health care even better than they do today,” the release stated.

Spring noted that the creation of the task force doesn’t necessarily point to a merger of the two hospitals.

“We’re looking for the right way to develop a valleywide system,” he said. “That wouldn’t necessarily mean a merger... We feel like it’s important for us to be transparent in this process with our community and our staff.”

Spring said financial resources for smaller hospitals are an ongoing challenge and that many small hospitals are looking to be a part of a larger system.

“It’s the economies of scale,” he said.

The federal Affordable Care Act also played a part in spurring the creation of the task force, Spring added.

“It really changed the dynamic of what systems will look like in the future and for small hospitals,” he said, specifically noting changes in hospital reimbursement.

Currently, the two hospitals collaborate on the recruitment and sharing of physicians, including hospitalists, anesthesiologists, radiologists, surgeons and a variety of other specialists and clinical staff. The facilities also share services such as nuclear medicine, cardio/pulmonary rehabilitation, cardiac testing and telemedicine.

“Most of what we do, Kalispell does, too,” Spring said. “They tap into using us as an access point for things we don’t do. When we send patients to Kalispell, that relationship is in place already.”

Spring said any decisions made going forward won’t impact North Valley’s Planetree philosophy of patient care.

“There are no plans to change the philosophical background or how we integrate with the community,” he said. “It’s more about how to expand or grow. I wouldn’t look for any significant changes in patient care.”

The joint task force will continue to meet on a regular basis and it is expected that initial recommendations will be ready by the end of the year.

Kalispell Regional Healthcare task force members include Curtis Lund, current board vice chairman; Dr. Gwenda Jonas, current board chairwoman; Muffie Thomson, former board chair; Henry Ricklefs, board member; and L. Peter Larson, former board chair.

North Valley Hospital representatives are Penni Chisholm, immediate past board chairwoman; Steve Stahlberg, current board chairman; Jane Karas, current board vice chairman; Dr. Suzanne Daniell, board member; and Lin Akey, past board member.

— Daily Inter Lake features editor Lynnette Hintze contributed to this article