Update: LifePoint Health, new CEO focus on future after purchase of St. Francis Hospital

New St. Francis Hospital Chief Executive Officer David Koontz was not talking about the hospital’s troubled financial past on Monday. Instead, he was focusing on the future under new ownership.

Koontz, who has been working as part of a transition team for four months, was announced as the new CEO at the same time official word of LifePoint Health’s acquisition of the Columbus hospital was released.

The deal ends more than a year of financial uncertainty for the nearly 2,800 employees and the hospital, which has operated for the last 65 years on Manchester Expressway.

Koontz said he would spend the coming days helping the hospital’s roughly 300 physicians and its other employees focus on a bright future and not the troubled past.

“This is a huge opportunity for St. Francis, Columbus and LifePoint,” Koontz said. “I am very fortunate to be the facilitator of the convergence of a very symbiotic fit for LifePoint and St. Francis, particularly, and for the community at large. A healthy metropolitan economy needs a strong health-care industry.”

On Monday, the St. Francis Board of Trustees and LifePoint announced the acquisition by LifePoint Health. It was finalized on Thursday and reported previously by the Ledger-Enquirer.

The deal and the new CEO close a painful chapter in the long history of the hospital. The sale was a result of financial issues the St. Francis board has been dealing with since November 2014, when then-CEO Robert Granger announced there was a nearly $30 million accounting error.

“We are delighted to finalize our partnership with LifePoint Health and begin a new chapter at St. Francis,” Richard Y. “Bo” Bradley, chairman of the St. Francis Hospital board, said Monday in a prepared statement. “LifePoint and St. Francis share a dedication to quality care, creating great workplaces and being an engaged partner with our communities. We are proud to join the LifePoint family and move into the future from a position of strength.”

St. Francis has operated as a non-profit community hospital since its founding in 1950. LifePoint is a large for-profit hospital corporation based in Brentwood, Tenn.

LifePoint assumed and paid off the debt that was choking St. Francis. The key piece of that was paying off about $240 million in St. Francis debt. The bulk of that was a loan backed by the the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the major 2011 expansion of the hospital. LifePoint also offered employment to all active employees, subject to standard pre-employment screenings, and is continuing to foster collaborative relationships with physicians, according to the news release.

“LifePoint is pleased to welcome St. Francis to our network of hospitals and healthcare providers,” said William F. Carpenter III, chairman and chief executive officer of LifePoint Health. “We thank the board and St. Francis employees, physicians and volunteers for their ongoing support of St. Francis and our new partnership. Together, we look forward to building upon the legacy of excellent health care St. Francis has established and exploring new ways to improve the health and well being of the communities the hospital serves.”

LifePoint owns and operates community hospitals, regional health systems, physician practices, outpatient centers, and post-acute facilities in 21 states. It is a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ exchange. The company’s stock closed at $72.71 per share on Monday, down 69 cents or a little less than 1 percent.

Koontz has been on site at St. Francis as the deal with LifePoint moved forward. He served as transition executive for LifePoint since September and replaces Kirk Wilson, who was appointed interim CEO of St. Francis in April 2015 to lead the hospital during the organization’s efforts to align with a strategic partner.

Koontz previously worked as a health-care consultant for a variety of community health systems, national hospital corporations and international clients. Prior to that, he was senior vice president of strategy and business development at CHI St. Luke’s Health, a 1,170-bed, six-hospital system in Houston, according to the news release.

Koontz holds both a master’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in public health, health system management from Tulane University. He also is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, and he is a certified management accountant.

The acquisition by LifePoint will make St. Francis a better hospital, Koontz said.

“The partnership with LifePoint, for St. Francis, will enable it to do far more than it would have ever been able to do on its own,” Koontz said. “For LifePoint, this is a significant acquisition because of St. Francis’ prominance in the state of Georgia.”

LifePoint plans to keep the St. Francis name, Koontz said. “Right now, our intention is to continue to build on the St. Francis legacy and continuing the brand name of St. Francis,” he said.

The changes patients will notice due to the change of ownership will be minimal, Koontz said.

“The things that LifePoint brings to St. Francis are capital and best practices,” he said. “I don’t expect a patient that comes to the hospital in January will notice anything that different from what they saw in December. The personnel are the same personnel that provided care here at St. Francis last year. One of the things that has been so attractive to LifePoint is the commitment the employees have to St. Francis and their patients.”

The acquisition of LifePoint was not the only deal LifePoint announced on Monday.

Duke LifePoint Healthcare grew its presence in North Carolina with the acquisition of Central Carolina Hospital and Frye Regional Medical Center. Central Carolina, a 137-bed hospital based in Sanford, and Frye Regional, a 355-bed hospital in Hickory, were previously owned by Tenet Healthcare Corporation. The acquisition also included 19 regional physician practices. St. Francis is a 376-bed facility.

LifePoint’s top executives are expected to be in Columbus Tuesday to meet with hospital staff, physicians and community leaders.

This story was originally published January 4, 2016 at 9:09 AM with the headline "Update: LifePoint Health, new CEO focus on future after purchase of St. Francis Hospital."