Alva Review-Courier -

A new health care giant is emerging with the announcement Wednesday that SSM Healthcare of Oklahoma is taking over operations of the OU Medical Center and affiliated campuses.

The agreement signed by University of Oklahoma President David Boren, William Thompson, SSM Health president and CEO, and Mike Samis, University Hospitals Authority and Trust Chairman, creates a new nonprofit corporation that is set to fund construction of a new hospital tower and digital upgrades for patient records.

“It's been a very complicated transaction,” Samis said. “This agreement ensures the best medical treatment, education and research.”

By replacing the previous operator, HCA, with the nonprofit SSM Health Care, Samis said the agreement will allow for the long-term reinvestment of $900 million in new buildings, equipment and programs.

“The health care world is changing,” Samis said. “Institutions that fail to adjust are at risk.”

SSM Health Care of Oklahoma Inc. already is home to St. Anthony Hospital, and 17 other hospitals throughout the state. The agreement ends an agreement with Nashville-based, for-profit HCA that started in 1998 as the University of Oklahoma was fighting to keep its teaching hospital and college of medicine from facing extinction.

“From the first day I became president I was aware the medical system was losing a lot of money,” Boren said. “There was a decision by them to end the relationship.”

The OU Medical System promotes itself as the state's largest and most comprehensive health system, offering expertise in more medical specialties than any other hospital system in Oklahoma.

The two operations combined will employ more than 6,600 people. The two were previously ranked as the city's 11th and 12th largest employers, but will be ranked fifth overall and also will surpass Integris as the area's largest health care employer.

Two Years in the Making

Negotiations began about two years ago, with Boren encouraging OU College of Medicine Dean Dewayne Andrews to “find a fit” for the hospital system in a rapidly changing world of health care and medical education.

“Academic centers cannot stand alone in the world as they did in the past,” Andrews said. “They need to be a part of a network, health care system and a vision.”

That vision, Thompson said, includes providing health care to the poor and those unable to pay for treatment.

Both SSM Health Care and OU Medical Center have undergone dramatic transformations over the past dozen years. SSM Health Care, working with the city of Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County, invested $220 million redeveloping its Midtown campus at NW 10 and Walker Avenue and helping clean up the surrounding neighborhood.

"We've watched that closely and we've been pleased to see that," Boren said. ""We've looked beyond that. We looked at the financial strength of SSM, where they're located, and at their core values. They put patients first. And we found we have shared values."

OU Medical Center, located a bit more than a mile to the east of St. Anthony at NW 10 and Lincoln Boulevard, has undergone a similar transformation with construction of a new physicians' tower, children's hospital, cancer center and other expansions.

Five-Year Plan

The inpatient hospital is one of the few remaining facilities that has not been rebuilt. Boren and Thompson said planning for the new hospital tower will be part of a five-year plan that will also then renovate and convert the existing hospital into additional space for the new nonprofit's operations.

Boren said the transaction and future investments will not involve any taxpayer money, but instead will be funded through revenues generated by the hospital group, which also includes OU Medical Center in Edmond and the OU Medicine Breast Health Network.

The transition from HCA to the new partnership is expected to be completed by next summer pending regulatory approvals.

No Name Changes Now

Branding, meanwhile, will allow both St. Anthony and OU Medical Center to be known by their current names, though Thompson said he expects an overarching brand eventually will be attached to both.

Thompson said the switch from a for-profit corporation to a Catholic nonprofit corporation will not result in any less services provided now to patients. SSM Health Care is a $6 billion company with operations in four states.

“I think this will make a great difference,” Boren said. “What this will do for medical education in Oklahoma, patient care, access to patient care, quality of patient care, as we make these investments, as we plow the money back in. We can build something that will have a reputation far beyond this region. We will build a model of a hospital system with an academic center that will really be a model for the rest of the country.”