SkyRidge Medical Center:
A Consolidation Success

The 2006 merger of Bradley Memorial Hospital and Cleveland Community Hospital in Cleveland, Tenn., offers an example of how the consolidation of two hospitals can benefit a community and improve the overall health care offered to residents.

As in Morristown, Cleveland had two general medical/surgical hospitals—one a for-profit facility and the other a county-based, not-for-profit. However, when the governmental facility faced financial issues, its combination with CHS-affiliated Cleveland Community Hospital, proved beneficial:

• Allowed hospital leadership to focus resources on expanding services and enhancing quality.
• Provided the opportunity to implement best practices from each hospital facility.
• Offered the medical and hospital staff a shared vision of quality care for their community.

Duplicated services were eliminated, existing services were expanded and an environment that fostered the development of new services ensued—bringing, among other things, neurology and vascular surgery to the residents of Cleveland.

The financial resources and operational expertise offered by this new affiliation also allowed for the construction of an outstanding facility. The investment of $45 million for a new patient tower and renovation of existing space on the Main Campus, along with $13 million invested in new and upgraded equipment on both campuses, resulted in beautiful facilities with a full array of inpatient and outpatient services including a wound care center and therapy services, adult psychiatric and substance abuse services, outpatient surgery, sleep center and imaging services.

Today, both hospitals, now known together as SkyRidge Medical Center, offer the residents of Cleveland improved quality of care based on core measure scores. Employee satisfaction has increased as has physician satisfaction. The development of a Physician Leadership Group and a Nurse-Physician Excellence Task Force are examples of how two distinct cultures were integrated into one.

The new affiliation with Community Health Systems afforded Cleveland the opportunity and resources to create an updated and expanded facility. Today, SkyRidge Medical Center is the second largest employer in Bradley County focusing on quality enhancements, physician recruitment and new service development.