The CEOs of Southern Illinois Healthcare and the Harrisburg Medical Center say the merger of the two facilities will happen gradually over the next two years and that when it is complete, Harrisburg area patients will less frequently have to leave town for important medical care, the Harrisburg Register reports.
SIH CEO Rex Budde and HMC CEO Donald Hutson said they believe the merger will greatly benefit patients in southeastern Illinois, as well as provide HMC employees with greater opportunities for pay and advancement within the system.
Hutson said the economies of scale, what with shrinking reimbursements for medical care and the reluctance of physicians to work in a small market, were working against the 70-bed Harrisburg hospital and caused them to start looking for a “strategic alignment” with another health care provider. SIH became an obvious choice, he added. Read more.
