Doctors target ailing ECM

FLORENCE - A question mark looms over health care in the Shoals.

With an offer from a private group on the table to purchase Coffee Health Group as well as ongoing discussions among Coffee, Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield and Huntsville Hospital that could result in a partnership, it's unclear what could happen in the next five, 10 or 20 years to treat the medical needs of Shoals residents.

A group of local physicians has come together to offer support for a future that will allow health care to remain local as well as flourish.

"What we're proposing is a single health care facility," said Dr. Hisham Ba'albaki, a cardiologist with a practice in Florence. "To do this, the Helen Keller board and Coffee board would have to come together as one. We want the area to grow, to attract businesses and good physicians, and to do that, we need to have a great health care system."

In a resolution approved Oct. 29, the Colbert County Medical Society and the Lauderdale County Medical Society merged into a single entity, a move Ba'albaki said is the first step toward the unity the hospital boards need to effect necessary change for local health care.

"It's a critical time for health care in our area, and whatever decision is made will affect not just us, but our economy and our future for years to come," said Dr. Neal Clement, an orthopedist who practices in Colbert and Lauderdale counties. "Decisions have to be made with patients in mind."

The resolution set future goals for local health care and included the following components:

• a single governing body whose membership is composed of a substantial percentage of physicians representing both counties (to) oversee all area hospitals;

• an understanding that competition between hospitals is costly and often counterproductive, with the goal in mind of curtailing those duplication of services;

• avoiding being sold to or establishing a relationship with any organization that would curtail specialized services offered in the Shoals;

• acknowledging that a single state-of-the-art hospital would be in the best long-term interest of the community, with the goal of reaching a financial strategy and plan for such a facility.

Ba'albaki said the physicians have met with the chairmen of both hospital boards as well as community leaders to begin taking action on some of their goals.

Much of the uncertainty about health care in the Shoals surrounds Coffee, which includes Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital and ECM East, both in Florence, and Shoals Hospital in Muscle Shoals. With $140 million in debt, much of which comes from the purchase of three hospitals in 1999, Coffee has struggled to operate profitably.

In addition to the acquisition of what was then Humana/HCA and Shoals Hospitals, Coffee also purchased Russellville Hospital, which it has since sold.

In the past, Coffee and Keller have talked of merging, but those talks failed. Bill Anderson, chief executive officer at Keller, said this round of talks that includes Huntsville have been more productive and moved farther than they ever have. Complicating the issue is the offer to purchase Coffee by Regional Health Care Partners, a private company based in Brentwood, Tenn.

If Keller and Coffee merged and partnered with Huntsville, health care could stay local as well as nonprofit. If Coffee is purchased by RegionalCare, a competitive environment would remain and the facility in Lauderdale would become a private, for-profit organization.

"It doesn't matter to us if it's for profit or not for profit, as long as the end result is sustainable and will grow," Ba'albaki said.

Other physicians, including Dr. Jason Lockette, an ear, nose and throat specialist in Colbert County, would like to take that goal one step further.

“Most physicians support a facility that is locally owned, not-for-profit and led by representatives of the Shoals,” said Lockette, who did not attend the meeting.

Although it's unclear what will happen - as it will be up to Coffee's board to make a decision - the physicians agree that the time for action is now.

"We don't want to see the status quo continue; I want better health care," said Dr. Jack McLendon, an internist in Colbert County. "We have to put our differences aside in order to make these goals work."

Dr. Gregory Beer, an anesthesiologist who works at both Keller and Coffee, said there would be winners and losers regardless of the outcome.

"What we've got is a sinking ship (in Coffee), and if we stay on it, it's going to be like trying to pay the tab for the Titanic," he said. "But, in reality, I might be one of those losers. Either way, it's risky, especially for physicians who are concerned about their bottom lines."

Unifying, however, might be the best chance to survive in the health care market, which is growing increasingly difficult for both health care facilities and physicians.

"We want to be a shining star and be able to attract people from far away to the area for care," said Dr. Barbara Frazier, an obstetrician and gynecologist with a practice in Florence. "We can be so much better if we are together than if we are apart, and so much more powerful, too."

At the end of the day, health care should be the concern of all, Colbert County physician Dr. Ronald McCoy said.

"We're all in this together, and at some point, we'll all be patients," he said.

Michelle Rupe Eubanks can be reached at 740-5745 or michelle.eubanks@TimesDaily.com.