PERRYVILLE – Tuesday night, the Perry County Health System board of directors voted unanimously to begin negotiations with Mercy Hospital Jefferson with a non-binding letter of intent.
The following is a statement from Chris Wibbenmeyer, CEO, Perry County Health System
The mission of Perry County Health System has never wavered – “To be the first choice of quality healthcare for our community.”
We have conducted extensive research in determining if there is a potential affiliation partner for our organization.
We have solicited input from every stakeholder, including some of the most important ones – Perry County residents.
We have listened and appreciate the input from our community.
Last (Tuesday) evening, the Perry County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees voted unanimously to take the next step in the affiliation process – to begin negotiations of a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with Mercy. This next step will lead us into the due diligence and negotiation phase of the affiliation process.
Any path forward for Perry County Health System must prioritize:
- excellent patient care;
- our employees and culture;
- local decision-making;
- keeping health care costs manageable for families and employers; and
- recruiting and retaining physicians.
An LOI will allow the parties to share detailed, confidential information to further investigate if this is the right partnership moving forward. Decisions will be based on a long list of criteria our employees, our providers, the hospital administration, and the community have identified as important for the future of excellent patient care in Perry County.
We appreciate the community’s engagement in this process and we will continue to keep the public informed as it moves forward.
Here is a statement from Mercy Hospital Jefferson President Eric Ammons regarding the PCHS decision:
“Mercy is appreciative of the time and effort Perry County Memorial Hospital (PCMH), hospital leaders, physicians and employees, Perry County leaders and the entire community have put forward in seeking out what is best for the future of health care in Perry County. Unanimously agreeing to negotiate a non-binding letter of intent with Mercy is an important step in this process of due diligence to ensure a potential lease agreement is in the best interest of everyone involved, most importantly the people of Perry County.
“Mercy and PCMH have long histories of serving residents across east-central and southeast Missouri as separate health care providers. A collaboration between the two organizations could support the creation of a rural health delivery effort that would strengthen regional health services for years to come. Mercy is grateful for this opportunity to continue exceptional care for the Perry County community and to be a part of this next step in the PCMH process.”