Shelby Memorial Hospital in Shelbyville, Ill., has joined Hospital Sisters Health System. HSHS has renamed the facility HSHS Good Shepherd Hospital.
The 30-bed secular not-for-profit hospital now is a Catholic facility, assuming the values, ethics and mission of HSHS and adhering to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, according to E.J. Kuiper, president and chief executive of HSHS' central Illinois division.
The Springfield, Ill.-based HSHS has retained the hospital's 14-member board of directors and now holds two seats on that board. The hospital's board reports to the HSHS board and to Hospital Sisters Ministries, the public juridic person of HSHS. That is according to Kuiper.
Marilyn Sears was president and chief executive of the Shelbyville hospital. Since HSHS requires that the chief executives of its hospitals be Catholics in good standing — and since Sears is not Catholic — she now is chief operating officer of the facility; and Kuiper is its interim chief executive until HSHS fills the position on a permanent basis. Kuiper also will continue as head of HSHS' central Illinois division.
Kuiper said prior to the affiliation, HSHS and the Shelbyville hospital had partnered on cardiology, telemedicine and other programs. In the summer of 2015, Shelby Memorial Hospital executives approached HSHS about the possibility of an affiliation. "The board and management team felt that due to the changing health care environment it would be difficult to sustain the hospital's mission as an independent entity," Kuiper said.
The Diocese of Springfield supported the affiliation, Kuiper said.
The affiliation is expected to improve patient access to specialty care. Kuiper said the joining together likely will bring new clinicians and services to the facility. HSHS' medical group currently has 13 providers practicing in Shelbyville.
The Shelbyville hospital is HSHS' 15th hospital. The system has three hospitals within 60 miles of Shelbyville.