Sale of Jefferson Regional Medical Center

Inside today’s Leader

Editorial .................. 10-11 Trivia ............................ 13 Business................. 14-15For children ................. 17School ..................... 24-26

Nuptials .................. 28, 30Obituaries ............... 32-35 Calendar ................. 36-37Outdoors ..................... 47Classifieds.............. 48-55

‘Once a week but never weakly’

SPORTS Lancers top Festus in soccer 42 GREAT EATS A gift of nature 38

Vol. 18, No. 35 (636) 931-7560Thursday, April 19, 2012 www.myleaderpaper.com

An April 21 benefit is being held to help David “Moose” McArthur, 22, a former Marine who was injured while serving in Afghanistan. He was driving a heavy-duty military vehicle when he ran over an I.E.D. The blast left him with lasting injuries. With him are his wife, Lindsay, and their 18-month-old daughter, Heidi. See the story and details about the upcoming event on Page 4.

Ted Howell photo

Pevely cuts fluoride, festival, services

Ted Howell photoWish, a 55-pound tortoise, is safely back home with her owner, Sherry Smith.

Shell gameWayward tortoise makes a run (?) for it; now home safeBy Laura MarlowFor the Leader

It’s heart-warming when a commu-nity pulls together to help a lost one find her way home – even if she is a

cold-blooded reptile who retreats into her shell each night.

Wish, an 8-year-old Sulcata des-ert tortoise, disappeared from her Hillsboro-area home sometime in the afternoon of Monday, April 9. After looking for her for a day or two, Wish’s worried owner, Sherry Smith, 50, for-merly of Arnold, called the Leader to place a “lost pet” ad.

Meanwhile, Michael Shanks of De Soto, who works for the Missouri De-partment of Transportation, was nearby on April 11 when a work crew spied a large tortoise near the Hillsboro Water Treatment plant on Hayden Road.

“Originally, they believed it was a big rock on the road,” Shanks said. “When they stopped, they realized it wasn’t a rock.”

Resident reptile expert Shanks was called in.

“For the safety of the animal and motoring public, we decided to remove it from the right of way,” he said.

See TORTOISE, Page 18

Veteran’s benefit By Clementine Carbery

For the Leader

The Pevely Board of Aldermen decided Monday to cancel this year’s Pevely Homecoming fes-

tival and spring and fall bulk trash pick-ups, to postpone park improvements, to cut down on annual tree limb collections, to stop adding fluoride to the water sup-ply, to do away with random employee drug testing and to eliminate a list of planned projects and purchases.

Officials said the actions are nec-essary to build up the city’s reserve fund. The changes will slice more than $70,000 out of the 2012 million budget, which called for $3,082,771 in expenses and took effect Jan. 1.

Pevely City Administrator Jason Eisenbeis told the board Monday the city is against the wall and must make cuts.

Eisenbeis said Pevely’s 2012 bud-

See PEVELY, Page 20

See JRMC, Page 19

By Patrick MartinFor the Leader

The future of Jefferson Regional Medical Center may be found inside one of four, fat folders that

landed at the Crystal City hospital on April 5.

Each contains a proposal from one of four unnamed hospitals or hospital groups as to how each would propose to buy, merge or otherwise team with Jefferson Regional, the county’s only full-service hospital and its largest employer.

Jefferson Regional asked for the

Match?Hospital pondersfour proposals of possible partners

The future of Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Crystal City is up in the air.

19Jefferson County LeaderThursday, April 19, 2012 News

Ted Howell photoWish poses for a portrait.

keep track of where she is, and if I need to, I’ll turn her and get her going a dif-ferent way.”

But that particular day, Wish took a wrong turn and ended up down the hill. When found by the highway crew, Wish had traveled less than a half-mile, Smith estimated.

She said a resident who hadn’t yet met Wish spied her crossing a yard and called Animal Control, who referred her to the Missouri Department of Conser-vation.

“The lady said they (Department of Conservation) told her to leave it alone, that it was probably a snapping turtle headed for water,” Smith said. “She said Wish looked like she was on a mission. ‘She came right up to me, like it was no big deal,’ is what she said. And I’m not surprised – Wish is not scared of anybody.”

This was not Wish’s first break-out.Last fall, someone left the gate open

at Smith’s husband’s yard in Hollister, and Wish lumbered away. Animal Control picked her up.

“That time, she ended up at the Springfield Zoo,” Smith said. “I went and picked her up, and that’s how she came to live here. She’s had a worldly little life.”

Now happily back with her family, Wish is scheduled to go to her “summer home” in Hollister soon. But she’ll be back in Jefferson County come fall, and she’ll probably be bigger.

“She won’t get to be full size until she’s like 15,” Smith said. “She’ll be at least 100 pounds.

“When I first called the police to report her missing, I think they thought I was nuts,” she said with a laugh. “But it was just enough to make you sick to think she was gone.

“She’s such a neat pet.”

proposals in January after a board of directors committee whittled a list of potential suitors from 20 to four.

Those four were asked to submit proposals.

Hospital spokesman John Winkel-man said Tuesday the board had not given itself a hard deadline by which to act on the proposals.

“These are thick proposals with lots of information,” Winkelman said. “They were asked to address a specific list of items.”

A press release from the hospital said, “Evaluation of the proposals by the committee and entire board is ex-pected to take several months.”

Jefferson Regional’s board an-nounced late last year that it would entertain offers or proposals. It also hired Steve Gellineau, a Boston-based health care consultant, to help with the search.

Jefferson Regional’s chief executive officer, Jim Muehlhauser, said in an inter-view last November that the hospital was exploring strategic options because of looming changes in the health care busi-ness, changes he said will make it even more difficult for independent hospitals to fulfill their missions.

At the time, Muehlhauser and board president Bill McKenna said they would entertain offers from both non-profit (like Jefferson Regional) and for-profit groups, from St. Louis-based or far away

JRMC: Hospital committee will review proposals

TortoiseContinued from Page 18 organizations, and for arrangements

ranging from entering a buying group to merging to an outright sale.

The hospital’s press release re-ferred to the relationships as “potential affiliations.”

Continued from Page 1

“Evaluation of the proposals by the committee and entire board is expected to take several months.”

JRMC press release

Antonia Elementary students ‘pay it forward’

From left, Kyle Gregory, Grant Davis, Paige Compton, Allison Hewett and Dominic Gherardini take a break from handing out gift cards. See more photos at myleaderpaper.com.

Antonia Elementary School third-graders recently raised the spirits of random customers at the U-

Gas station and store in Barnhart, handing out more than 150 $10 gift cards.

The students raised $760 by doing chores and jobs at their homes and in their community. Then, U-Gas agreed to match those funds and provided the students with about $1,500 in $10 gas gift cards.

Students handed out the cards on March 30 to people who showed up at the station for gas.

“It was awesome to witness all the ex-pressions of gratitude that came from each unsuspecting customer and so refreshing to know our students were responsible for making that difference,” Antonia Elemen-tary principal Mark Rudanovich said.

The “Paying it Forward” project was part of the school’s character education program.

“Each year, the third-grade teachers create and implement a service-learning project for their students as a way of tak-ing learning outside of the classroom and

making connections for students to their local community,” said Steve Helderle, a student teacher who helped coordinate the project. “This year, their goal was for students to actively participate in helping our community while learning skills that will benefit them as caring, productive citizens.”

Five students were selected to hand out the cards. “They were chosen after they had to write an essay about why they should be the ones chosen to give out the gift cards,” Rudanovich said.


Editorial .................. 10-11 Business...................... 19Trivia ............................ 23 Calendar ................. 24-25For children ................. 26

Nuptials ....................... 28School ..................... 30-31Obituaries ............... 32-34 Church ......................... 40Classifieds.............. 47-54


SPORTS Upsets mark district baseball 41 GREAT EATS It’s all in the Kraus family 37

Vol. 18, No. 39 (636) 931-7560Thursday, May 17, 2012 www.myleaderpaper.com

They’ve got talentFour-year-olds Jacquelynn Fribis of Barnhart and Sara Appleton of Hillsboro won third place and a $100 prize in the Jefferson County’s Got Talent show held May 11. For details and photos, see Page 2.

One more week to turn in photos of grandkids

The deadline to enter Leader Pub-lications’ “Show Off Your Grand-kids” photography contest is 5 p.m.

Friday, May 25.Winning photos will be published

in the summer edition of Grand Times, which will be delivered in the mail in

It’s MercyJefferson Regional chooses suitor from original field of 20By Peggy Scott and Kim RobertsonFor the Leader

Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Crystal City is negotiating to become part of Mercy Health, a Catholic

health care system that has 31 hospitals and more than 200 outpatient facilities across the U.S., including a 979-bed hospital in St. Louis County and a 187-bed hospital in Washington, Mo., as well as Mercy Clinic, a 460-member multi-specialty physician organization.

Jefferson Regional brings 55 years of community service to the table.

For 52 years of its history, the facility was known as Jefferson Memorial Hospi-tal. It opened on May 15, 1957, thanks to work by community leaders who raised money to fund construction and start-up of the hospital.

Jeff Buck, interim CEO at Jefferson Regional Medical Center, said the same community-oriented spirit that drove those early organizers to start the hospital motivates today’s board of directors.

“The board still is looking out for the community’s interest and what is best for the mission of the organization,” Buck said.

Bill McKenna, chairman of Jefferson Regional’s board, said it’s too early in the negotiation process to say whether Jef-ferson Regional would be sold to Mercy or merge with it, or even whether a deal can be reached between the two.

“Our intent is to carry quality health care in this community onward, and probably being part of something bigger is in the best interest of everyone in the community,” McKenna said.

The Jefferson Regional board chose Mercy from among 20 health care groups

Pica pickedUnion Pacific chooses De Soto-area man for honor

tied to company’s 150th anniversary

Ted Howell photoRick Pica on the job in De Soto’s Union Pacific car shop.

the June 14 issue of the Jefferson County Leader and the Arnold-Imperial Leader. Prizes will be awarded for the first five places.

First prize is $100; second prize is

By Kevin CarberyFor the Leader

A substitute teacher for the Crystal City School District has been let go and is under police investiga-

tion over a text message allegedly sent to a high school student.

At least one parent believes the dis-trict administration was lax in notifying parents about the incident.

Superintendent Ron Swafford issued a press release May 11.

Crystal City sub dismissed over text “We received information from a

high school teacher that she had a stu-dent tell her she had seen a text message between a substitute teacher and a high school student and that some inappropri-ate behavior might have occurred,” Swaf-ford said in the press release.

Swafford said in the release the mat-ter had been turned over to the Crystal City Police Department and the state’s Family Support Division.

11 out of 46,000 will ring the bell July 2 at Stock Exchange

By Rebecca BishopFor the Leader

After nearly four decades of spending his live-long days working on the railroad, De

Soto-area resident Rick Pica has earned a trip to the Big Apple and a once-in-a-lifetime honor.

Pica, 53, is one of just 11 em-ployees chosen from Union Pacific Railroad’s nearly 46,000 workers na-tionwide to ring the closing bell on the

See CONTEST, Page 17 See JRMC, Page 21

See CRYSTAL CITY, Page 18

See PICA, Page 16

Ted Howell photo

21Jefferson County LeaderThursday, May 17, 2012

that submitted proposals to buy, merge or somehow team up with the Crystal City hospital.

In April, the JRMC board, which has 14 members, narrowed the proposals to four, and then announced May 9 that it would begin negotiations with Mercy.

“This has been a long, well-thought-out process,” McKenna said. “They (Mercy) have a real concern for quality care and they have a good reputation in the community.”

Mercy Health VP of Communica-tions Barb Meyer said merger, sale or partnership are all on the table.

“We don’t know what the ultimate relationship is,” Meyer said. “We are just now entering discussions. It could be any of those.”

‘Selling’ the hospital was Job 1 in 1953

Before Jefferson Memorial opened, county residents faced a long drive to St. Louis for hospital care; I-55 hadn’t been constructed yet.

The late Amos Govero, a Festus man who owned a local trucking company, decided Jefferson County residents de-served local hospital care. Govero and other leaders he enlisted discovered there was a federal grant program available that supplied seed grants to communities willing to raise private money to build a hospital.

On Aug. 20, 1953, the first board of directors for Jefferson Memorial Hospital was formed at a meeting in the Golden Rule dining room. Govero became its first president.

The board’s first and formidable task was to find a half-million, mid-1950s dollars.

To raise the money, the board sold “Jefferson Memorial Hospital Associa-tion Participation Certificates.”

For as little as $10, people and businesses could buy a “share” of the proposed hospital. While the certificates had no monetary value, owners were en-titled to vote for the hospital’s board of directors, a practice that continued until three years ago.

Roy Burnside, who currently sits on Jefferson Regional’s board, was a brand-new banker in 1955 and bought in to the hospital plan.

“I was making $1 an hour,” Burnside said. “I bought two units. That was $20, and for me it was half a week’s pay.”

Burnside’s participation escalated when he was asked by bank officials to make calls on others in the community, soliciting their financial support.

“Lots of people were working on this project,” Burnside said. “It was a big deal to get that thing started.”

The late Claude Cook, a retired De Soto insurance man, was recruited to raise funds in De Soto.

Cook put together a team of high school students to make “sales calls” on De Soto business owners.

The #1 Selling Car Made In America!

Twin City Toyota • 1-888-504-0383301 Autumn Ridge Drive

Herculaneum, MO www.twincitytoyota.com

Big City Selection/Twice the

Satisfaction

Exit 178 McNutt St.

Scenic Plaza

Autumn Ridge

Dr.

TWIN CITY

Next to Quik TripN

55

NEW

34MPG

2012 Corolla

NEW

0%*

for 60 months

2012 RAV 4

*TFS approval.

27MPG

2012 CamryNEW

Per Month36 MonthsLease

Per Month36 MonthsLease

$178*

See dealer for details. With approved credit. $500 military rebate available on all models. Financed through Toyota Motor Credit. $1,000 college grad

rebate on select models. See dealer for details. With approved credit.

Complimentary 2 yr. and 25,000 service and roadside

assistance on all new purchases.

$133*

2012 SiennaNEW

37MPG

0%*

or

$1,000TFS Cash

NEED CREDIT HELP CALL LARRY SANDERSPREOWNED CLEARANCE OVER 150 TO CHOOSE FROM

2003 Buick LeSabre

$6,900 Stk. #3382B

2007 Suzuki Forenza

$6,950 Stk. #0000S313

2005 Mazda MPV LX

$6,990 Stk. #0000S297

2006 Ford Focus SE

$7,950 Stk. #0000S310

2006 Chevrolet Cobalt LS

$7,988 Stk. #3507A

2004 Mercury Grand Marquis LS

$8,988 Stk. #00A1542A

2004 Dodge Ram 1500 ST

$8,988 Stk. #A1562

2006 Mercury Grand Marquis LS

$9,988 Stk. #M534

2006 Honda Civic LX

$9,988 Stk. #3351A

2005 Ford Explorer XLT

$9,988 Stk. #M530

2007 Chevrolet Aveo LS

$7,988

2010 Toyota Corolla

$13,988 Stk. #A1487

2010 Chevrolet Impala LT

$13,988 Stk. #A1532

2009 Chevrolet Cobalt LT

$12,500 Stk. #M529

2007 Dodge Grand Caravan

$12,488 Stk. #S325

2010 Kia Soul

$15,988 Stk. #3504A

*$3,500 cash down, 12k miles per year., TFS approval, Tier1+ Credit

*$3,500 cash down, includes lease bonus cash, 12K miles per year, TFS approval, Tier1+ Credit

SOLD

JRMCContinued from Page 1

See JRMC, Page 55

News

Thursday, May 17, 2012Jefferson County Leader20 News

See MEDICAL STAFF, Page 55

letter of intent to explore merger. The announcement followed a decade-long dispute between the two entities that polarized the community.

News of the negotiations followed a Missouri Supreme Court ruling against Mercy in its case against Patients First over Patients First’s three-bed hospital in Washington, Mo.

“The brouhaha in Washington re-ally tore up the community,” Avellone said. “I’d hate to see something like that here.”

Dr. David Stansfield, a family prac-tice physician with an office in Hillsboro, served as chief of staff at the hospital last year and sat in on initial talks with Mercy.

He understands Avellone’s concerns.“Indeed Mercy does have a reputa-

tion in the St. Louis community for being heavy-handed with physicians,” Stans-field said. “At Jefferson Regional, we have always had a staff of self-employed physicians, and all of us enjoy our inde-pendence.”

Across the nation, Stansfield said, changes in health care have meant more physicians are employed by hospitals or large groups. In the St. Louis region, Mercy has adopted this employment model. However, in other communities where Mercy has facilities, most physi-cians are self-employed.

Stansfield said he told negotiators on both sides that Jefferson County doctors prefer to remain independent.

By Peggy ScottFor the Leader

The 170 physicians who work at and for Jefferson Regional Medical Center will have a front-row seat

for changes that come with the hospital’s proposed affiliation with Mercy Health.

Dr. Amanda Avellone said she’s worried that a partnership between the two will hurt local doctors and, in turn, their patients.

“Most of the physicians I have spo-ken to have heavy reservations,” she said. “We haven’t been involved in the talks.”

However, hospital officials say doc-tors have been in the loop since the begin-ning of the process and will continue to participate in any decisions that are made.

Jeff Buck, interim CEO at Jefferson Regional, said not much has changed since the negotiations were announced last week.

“We have entered into exclusive negotiations with Mercy for a period of time,” Buck said. “We will see if we can come up with an agreement. There has been a lot of interest and a lot of ques-tions.”

Buck said doctors serve on the hospi-tal’s board of directors. The chief of staff is a voting member of the board and sev-eral other doctors have non-voting seats.

“They are part of the decision-making process,” Buck said. “Also, we have been sharing information with the physicians at their regular meetings.”

In 2011, when the hospital drafted its

Jefferson Regional schedules meeting with medical staff

initial request for proposals, doctors were invited to see the documents before they were finalized.

“They made valuable additions,” Buck said.

In addition, Buck said, doctors are in-vited to share their thoughts with hospital officials as the process moves forward.

Avellone said not all local doctors, including her, were aware of the talks or a possible deal with Mercy Health.

“They (Mercy) have a reputation of using manipulative tactics when dealing with doctors,” she said.

Avellone has worked as an indepen-dent physician in pulmonary critical care

at Jefferson Regional Medical Center since 2005.

“I really value that,” she said. “Any-one who wants to stay independent may be pushed out. I want the community to be aware that the physicians they have come to know and trust may not be here.”

John Winkelman said the Mercy sys-tem uses far more independent physicians than hospital-employed doctors.

Avellone said an example of Mercy’s tactics can be seen in neighboring Frank-lin County.

In April, Mercy Hospital and a Washington, Mo., physicians group called Patients First signed a nonbinding

Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Crystal City.

Jefferson Regional Medical Center

Surgical Weight Loss

“I had been on blood pressure medicine since I was 17. I don’t take it anymore.”

Steven Kurzweil, MD6 p.m. Tuesday, May 22Jefferson Regional Conference Center, 1400 US Hwy 61, Festus.

The road to weight loss begins with an informational program hosted by:

To register for the program or for more information call Director Judy Skaggs, LCSW, at 636-933-8135.

“I was going from being on oral medication to being on insulin shots, but now I have no diabetes at all.”

Following her most recent doctor visit, Karen B has lost 200 pounds since her lap band surgery. Her diabetes, sleep apnea and high blood pressure are all a part of her past.

Weight Loss Surgery Works

healthymyweigh“If I can do it, anybody can.”

“My snoring is completely gone.”

“Most of my clothes were a size 28, now I wear size 6.”

55Jefferson County LeaderThursday, May 17, 2012

Ted Howell photoJRMC board member Roy Burnside with his Jefferson Memorial Hospital Association Certificate of Participation. Certificates were sold in the 1950s to raise money for construction of the hospital in Crystal City.

JRMC: Community effort brought hospital to Jefferson County in 1957Continued from Page 21

Among those high school students was Fred Dietrich, who later served on the Jefferson Regional board of directors.

“We had little forms we would leave with each person we called on – if we couldn’t get the cash right then,” Dietrich remembers. “I don’t recall being turned down by anyone, but I never knew who really sent in money.”

Dietrich said it was a challenge to explain the certificates of participation.

“We were selling shares in the hos-pital, but they weren’t worth anything really. It was more like selling the idea of a hospital, the idea of improving the community.”

PPG makes it possiblePittsburgh Plate Glass in Crystal City

was among the biggest supporters of the plan for a community hospital.

The plant operated its own infirmary on Mississippi Avenue and would treat townspeople as well as injured glass-workers. But the company wanted out of the hospital business.

Glassworkers Local 63 was a large, strong union whose members supported the drive through payroll deductions. Both the company and its workers were major contributors.

Bill Clark of Festus, who worked at PPG for 39 years, served as president and vice president of the Glassworkers Local 63 for 15 years in several stints from 1970 to 1988. He held a seat on the hospital’s board for 20 years, representing the Glassworkers’ shares, until he left the board two years ago.

Clark said the union stepped up first to support the hospital plan.

“Our board member Bill La Brier and Amos Govero got to talking about the need for a hospital. I understand they got the ball rolling,” he said.

“We (the union) put money in and PPG (the company) came in after we did,” Clark said. “There were 3,500 men and women working at PPG then, and many of them signed up for payroll deductions.

“Louis ‘Perlie’ Biehle was our financial secretary at the time, and he went around and asked if union members wanted to contribute, and PPG went around to their people,” Clark said. “They

went to every individual in the plant and asked them. We really had a good turnout (of support).”

Clark was one of those who agreed to a payroll deduction.

“They came to me and I said if it would help my mom and dad, I’ll do it,” he said.

Both of his parents ended up using the services of the new hospital in the years ahead.

Fundraising successAccording to a May 9, 1957, ar-

ticle in the Jefferson County Record, the Hill-Burton grant eventually supplied $375,537.14 of the hospital’s original cost of $916,567.32.

Construction started in 1955, and by 1956 the hospital hired its first adminis-trator and had a building well under way on a formerly swampy piece of ground on Hwy. 61.

Dr. E.J. Senn of Herculaneum was appointed chief of staff. When Jefferson Memorial Hospital opened, the staff con-sisted of three doctors and 13 additional employees. The first hospital had 50 beds; today’s facility has 251 beds. The work-force has increased to 1,300 employees.

Burnside said when the hospital prepared to open, officials real-ized they didn’t have enough money to stock the facility with needed items like bandages and gauze. The hospital took out a $100,000 loan, and the fundraising contin-ued.

The facility has ex-panded several times over the years, leading to the reorganization and introduction of its new name and expanded scope in 2009.

Burnside said if the not-for-profit hospital would be sold, the pro-ceeds would go into a foundation to benefit health care in the county.

“That’s what hap-pens when there is a not-for-profit hospital,”

he said. “The law says it goes into a trust.”

And a little known quirk Burnside said the history of the hos-

pital is filled with lots of stories about community partnerships.

“Here’s a quirk not a lot of people know about,” he said.

In the late 1980s, Crystal City owned Jefferson Memorial Hospital for 90 days.

The hospital board was looking for funding possibilities for improvements and teamed up with the Crystal City Council to use tax-free bonds.

Burnside said the hospital was able to retire $17 million in bonds for $9 mil-lion. “But we had to transfer the hospital to the city of Crystal City for 90 days,” Burnside said.

At the end of the three months, ownership returned to the board as if the transfer never occurred.

Mercy, JRMC negotiations The JRMC board members hope to

have negotiations completed and a deci-sion made by the end of the year, he said.

“We will hammer out things we got in the proposal, and then we will take it

to the board, and it will be up to them to see what the next step would be,” McK-enna said.

Mercy also hopes to reach a deal with JRMC, said Lynn Britton, Mercy’s president and CEO.

“Mercy is delighted to have the op-portunity to participate with the board and leaders of Jefferson Regional in planning for the future of health care in Jefferson County,” Britton said. “We believe our organizations share a simi-lar vision for health care in the region, and we are excited to be able to enter this next stage of discussions.”

McKenna said the hospital board is committed to protecting its employees’ jobs.

“One of the questions we have asked of all the folks we’ve been going through this with is what kind of guarantees do you have for the existing employees,” he said. “That’s probably the most important thing to many people on the board. So, we don’t’ think that (employees being let go) is going to be an issue. In fact, we think years down the road we will have a lot more employees.”

McKenna said if JRMC teams up with Mercy, he thinks the Crystal City hospital would be improved.

“This is probably a good time for us to be doing this (looking to team up with Mercy),” he said. “We’re a healthy hospi-tal. We’re not distressed. We’re attractive. The board feels comfortable to talk to Mercy. We (JRMC board members) are all moving in the same direction. We all have our eyes on what this place will look like 20 years down the road.”

Jefferson Regional’s board an-nounced late last year that it would en-tertain offers or proposals. It also hired Steve Gellineau, a Boston-based health care consultant, to help with the search.

Jefferson Regional officials said late in 2011 that the hospital was exploring strategic options because of looming changes in the health care business, changes that will make it more difficult for independent hospitals to fulfill their missions.

Officials said they would entertain offers from both non-profit and for-profit groups, from St. Louis-based or far away organizations, and for arrangements ranging from entering a buying group to merging to an outright sale.

Medical staff: Doctor says local doctors prefer to remain independent Continued from Page 20

Most of Jefferson Regional’s current 170 doctors are independent. Winkelman said fewer than a dozen are employed by the hospital.

“There are 90 days of hard negotia-tions before anything is set, and the medi-cal staff will have input,” Stansfield said.

Doctors were scheduled to meet with hospital officials at 6 p.m. Wednesday (after the Leader’s deadline) to discuss the proposal. At the meeting, doctors will have an opportunity to talk with Buck and Bill McKenna, board president.

“This meeting is informational,” Stansfield said. “We will talk about these various things to both calm any fears and make sure the staff has a chance to express any opinions.”

Stansfield said anytime there is change, it’s normal to have worries.

“I worry, too,” he said. “There are the same worries in every nursing division, among the cooks and everyone else at the hospital.”

While the process may be causing some discomfort, Stansfield said the board is doing the right thing.

“I’m happy to see the hospital look-

ing at options,” Stansfield said. “Even though they are negotiating with Mercy, that doesn’t mean anything been decided. They need to be looking at options.”

Local orthopedic surgeons, includ-ing Dr. Craig Ruble, are members of the Signature Medical Group, a 100 doctor multi-specialty group. Jan Vest, CEO of Signature Medical Group, said the Mercy Health system is a “high quality hospital system.”

However, he said, “Like many busi-ness transactions, there’s risk involved.”

Vest said it’s possible that joining a large health care system could mean that

patients would be directed to specialists at larger hospitals. “That could mean loss of access to specialists,” Vest said. “It’s also possible that services can be more expensive with a larger system. If you go to hospital-owned doctors, they are able to charge a facility fee even for a doctor’s visit.”

Vest said he hopes the local board of directors will keep asking tough questions while negotiating with Mercy.

“I think the community is in a good position,” he said. “But there are always risks. Keep looking for the small print in those documents.”

News

Thursday, May 17, 2012Jefferson County Leader10

PatrickMartin

OPINIONSThe Jefferson County Leader is pub-lished weekly by Leader Publications, Inc. at its office at 503 N. Second St., Festus, Mo. 63028-9911. Periodicals postage paid at Festus, MO, Permit No. 25069. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Jefferson County Leader, P. O. Box 159, Festus, Mo. 63028-9911.

To Reach The LeaderBy PhoneVoice: 636-931-7560 Fax: 636-931-2226By Mail P.O.Box 159 Festus 63028By Car503 N. Second St. Festus, Mo. By EmailFor news: [email protected] For advertising: [email protected]

DeadlinesDisplay advertising and news:Friday prior to publication, 5 p.m.Classified Advertising:Monday, 5 p.m.

Out-of-area subscriptions$55 for one year$95 for two years

The StaffPam LaPlant PublisherPeggy Bess EditorGlenda O’Tool Potts Advertising ManagerPatrick Martin Editorial Page EditorPeggy Scott News EditorGordon Bess Sports EditorJeff Adams Rob Schneider Advertising SalesDebbie Skaggs Michelle Engelhardt Production ArtistsCarol Thomure Daina Nappier Classified AdvertisingLaura Marlow Layout deskKevin Carbery Kim Robertson Steve Taylor ReportersSherree Faries Fite Ted Howell Matt O’Harver PhotographersRobert Wills Proofreader

www.myleaderpaper.com

Letter policyLetters must be signed and in-

clude the writer’s telephone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity – those of 300 words or less are preferred.

Letters that run first in other publica-tions will not be published in the Leader. Letters from announced candidates will not be printed prior to their Election Day. Letters advocating political candidates or issues will not be printed in the last two issues before an election.

The 55-year-old relationship that Jefferson Regional Medical Center has had with residents of Jefferson

County is about to change.We just don’t yet know how.The Crystal City hospital last week an-

nounced that it had selected its prom date for the future – Mercy Health of St. Louis County. The easiest question to answer, as the pair heads onto the dance floor, is who will lead?

Obviously, as a single hospital looking for a partner, Jefferson Regional will not be the dominant partner with the eighth-largest Catholic health care network in the country. But there are lots of details to be worked out in the negotiations that will shape the hospital’s future.

The No. 1 question: Which verb should be used to describe the relationship?

Is Jefferson Regional going to sell, partner, merge or affiliate itself with Mercy?

If the answer is “sell,” it raises a basket of questions.

Jefferson Memorial Hospital was char-tered in 1957 as a not-for-profit community hospital. Start-up money was raised in the community by selling shares to businesses and individuals. Pittsburgh Plate Glass, the county’s biggest employer back then, was a large enough shareholder to be entitled to a board seat. For years, these shares could be voted to elect directors to the board, but the shares never were intended to have any monetary value.

In more recent times, the 15-mem-ber board solicited and elected its own members.

Even as a not-for-profit, the hospital was allowed to make profits to pay for expansions and equipment. Over the years, it has grown a formidable cluster of build-ings, staff and equipment that would bring a tidy price in a straight-up sale.

What would happen to the dough?It could go into a foundation that

makes grants for health care organizations. Or it may not be a cash transaction, as in, we’ll merge with you and deed our campus to you, but you “pay us” by building $100 million of physical improvements here (a new patient tower with private rooms, perhaps?) in the next five or 10 years.

Beyond the 31 hospitals it owns, Mercy has management relationships with other small hospitals, none near St. Louis. Mercy has lease-management arrange-ments with others. So those are other pos-sibilities.

The next question: Will there be a local board and how will it function?

Will it be a real board, with policy power, or will it be a ceremonial board whose main job is to raise money for the institution?

We’ve all read stories of local busi-nesses or institutions changing leadership or ownership.

Two public relations lines are standard. In the case of a new CEO, the old one left “to pursue other opportunities.” Sure enough – to find another job.

In an ownership change, the line is that the new owners are tickled pink to add this fine institution to the fold, that they admire the organization just as it is and plan no major changes, except to grow the business.

Would that statement make all 1,300 Jefferson Regional employees feel more secure, especially those who may have a counterpart in St. Louis doing the same job? Probably not. A gigantic business, with systems in place, can’t be expected to adopt the culture and procedures of a relatively small acquisition. The business world doesn’t work that way.

Another point: If Jefferson Regional is sold to/merged/affiliated/partnered with Mercy Health, it will be part of a Catholic health care network that adheres to the “ethical and religious directives” of the Catholic Church.

That would mean no more vasectomies or tubal ligations would be performed at Jefferson Regional and no birth control

pills or devices would be available from its pharmacy or clinics. Those services have been provided at Jefferson Regional in the past and still are today.

Finally, what would the hospital be called? Almost certainly there would be another change there, just four years after changing its 51-year-old name from Jefferson Memorial Hospital to Jefferson Regional Medical Center.

Here’s a hint: All 31 of Mercy Health’s acute care hospitals have the word “Mercy” in their names.

All of this depends on the mysterious verb that will describe the relationship. The hospital hopes to have that verb – and its future – determined by year’s end.

Elusive verb – sell, merge, partner – will tell future of hospital

3AJefferson County LeaderThursday, Aug. 23, 2012

www.justpoolsandspas.com

ust Pools3987 W. Outer Rd. South • Arnold (636) 464-7110

END OF SUMMER SALE PRICES ON ALL IN-STOCK

ABOVE GROUND POOLS!

August Clearance

At Edward Jones, the level of service you receive dependson your personal needs and preferences, not on the sizeof your investment portfolio.

If you’d like to experience exceptional personal service,consider Edward Jones. We offer solutions for all yourfinancial needs. Get to know us.

Call today to schedule a free portfolio review.

IS YOUR BROKER GIVING YOUTHE COLD SHOULDER?

www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC

John D Scalzitti, AAMS®Financial Advisor.

1012 Truman BlvdCrystal City, MO 63019636-937-6992

www.edwardjones.comMember SIPC

Scott M. SeekAAMS

Crystal City636-937-8081314-221-7281

MEMBER SIPC

John Scalzitti,AAMS

Crystal City636-937-69921-866-937-6992

MEMBER SIPC

Darren MierHerculaneum636-479-9511

MEMBER SIPC

To invest in tax-free bonds, call or visit your local financial advisor today.

*Yield effective 08/15/2012, subject to availability. Yield and market value may fluctuate if sold prior to maturity and the amount you receive from the sale of these securities may be less than, equal to, or more than the amount originally invested. Bond investments are subject to interest rate risk such that when interest rates rise, the prices of bonds can decrease and the investor can lose principal value. Any bond called prior to maturity results in reinvestment risk for the owner of the bond. May be subject to alternative minimum tax. Municipal bonds may have original issue discount.Some of the available issues of bonds are callable. Contact your local Edward Jones financial advisor for more information about maturity dates and applicable call provisions.

Jennifer HuntAAMSFestus

636-931-5295

MEMBER SIPC

Martha WalkerDe Soto

636-586-2303

MEMBER SIPCRick Portell,

AAMSCrystal City

636-931-6006

MEMBER SIPC

WITH SO MANY CHOICES,WHY WOULD YOU CHOOSE

TO PAY TAXES?

To invest in tax-free bonds, call or visit your localfinancial advisor today.

*

*

Tax-Free Municipal Bonds

www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC

Christine C Hill, AAMS®Financial Advisor.

350 Festus Centre DriveFestus, MO 63028636-937-4830

Frank C Weber, AAMS®Financial Advisor.

10581 Business 21Hillsboro, MO 63050636-797-3244

Jennifer Hunt, AAMS®Financial Advisor.

1145a East Gannon BoulevardFestus, MO 63028636-931-5295

Yield effective 08/15/2012, subject to availability. Yield and market value may fluctuate ifsold prior to maturity and the amount you receive from the sale of these securities may beless than, equal to, or more than the amount originally invested. Bond investments aresubject to interest rate risk such that when interest rates rise, the prices of bonds candecrease and the investor can lose principal value. Any bond called prior to maturity resultsin reinvestment risk for the owner of the bond. May be subject to alternative minimum tax.Municipal bonds may have original issue discount.

Some of the available issues of bonds are callable. Contact your local Edward Jones financialadvisor for more information about maturity dates and applicable call provisions.

1.02% to 3.83%

WITH SO MANY CHOICES,WHY WOULD YOU CHOOSE

TO PAY TAXES?

Frank Weber, AAMS

Hillsboro636-797-3244

MEMBER SIPC Christine HillAAMSFestus

636-937-48301-800-440-9910

MEMBER SIPC

Stephanie C. KingDe Soto

636-337-03731-800-586-9488

MEMBER SIPC

By Patrick MartinFor the Leader

The melding of Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Crystal City into the Mercy health system inched

closer last week when the two announced a letter of intent had been signed.

Jefferson Regional, the county’s only hospital, announced earlier this year it had asked for proposals from possible partners and had received four.

In May, it announced that it intended to partner with Mercy.

“This letter is the next step,” said Bill McKenna, chairman of the Jefferson Regional board of directors.

“We’ve tied down in the letter of intent discussions we’ve had regarding the RFP and it takes us to the due dili-gence stage in which Mercy can look at us under a microscope and we can do the same with them.

“If the due diligence is positive on both sides, it will lead to a final agree-ment where we will become part of the Mercy system.”

Mercy is the sixth-largest Catholic health care system in the country, with 31 hospitals, 38,000 employees and 1,700 doctors. In eastern Missouri, it owns and operates the 979-bed former St. John’s Mercy in St. Louis County and a 187-bed hospital in Washington.

Jefferson Regional has 251 beds and 1,379 employees.

The press release announcing the

letter of intent, issued on stationery with both Jefferson Regional’s and Mercy’s logos at the top, said the two entities were moving ahead “to partner” in providing health care to the county and surrounding counties.

Though negotiations are ongoing to nail down specific language, McKenna was able to clarify somewhat the meaning of “partner” if the agreement happens as anticipated.

“We will become part of the Mercy system,” he said. “The assets will become part of the Mercy system and Mercy will

help establish a locally controlled foun-dation which will advance the quality of health care in this and the surrounding service area.”

McKenna said the foundation board will be made up of members appointed by the current Jefferson Regional board.

Mercy will fund the foundation and then will step away.

“The foundation board will be inde-pendent from Mercy and self-governing,” McKenna said. How it will spend its funds “will be up to the foundation,” he said.

Jefferson Regional, Mercy sign letter of intent

In addition to funding the foundation, Mercy will use its financial strength to pay for improvements at the Jefferson Regional campus. The specifics are still being negotiated, McKenna said.

“The opportunity to work in partner-ship with the leading provider of health care services in Jefferson County, and to envision how we might strengthen and expand health care services within the region, is very exciting,” said Lynn Brit-ton, Mercy president and chief executive officer. “We look forward to a bright future together.”

A timetable for the agreement has not been set, but Jefferson Regional interim CEO Jeff Buck said the entities “expect to complete the transaction within about four to six months.”

“Mercy will help establish a locally controlled foundation which will advance the quality of health care in this and the surrounding service area.”

Bill McKennaJRMC board chairman

Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Crystal City.

News

Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012Jefferson County Leader20A

OPINIONSPatrickMartin






The Jefferson County Leader is pub-lished weekly by Leader Publications Inc. at its office at 503 N. Second St., Festus, Mo. 63028-9911. Periodicals postage paid at Festus, MO, Permit No. 25069. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Jefferson County Leader, P.O. Box 159, Festus, Mo. 63028-9911.

Quietly, behind the scenes, the future of health care in Jefferson County is being hammered out.

This is not some Obamacare conference or lofty national debate. This is real nuts and bolts stuff, talking about specific local buildings and future build-ings, current programs and ones that might be added, subtracted, moved or improved.

Eventually, it will be a discussion of human beings, the ones who are cared for and the ones who do the caring at whatever Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Crys-tal City will be called in the future.

Jefferson Regional, formerly known as Jefferson Memorial and the county’s only hospital, has been swimming upstream for at least the last two decades of its 55-year history. Upstream against the tides of health care that have surged toward bigger not necessarily being better, but bigger be-ing the means of survival.

It’s been a noble but doomed swim for some time.

Jefferson County being Jefferson County, local control has been a top prior-ity since the doors swung open in 1957. A local board, made up of local people, raised the seed money from local donors to start the hospital. Local contractors built it and local people patronized it. Anyone who sat on the board of directors was and is, as per the hos-pital’s by-laws, a Jefferson County resident.

Local has always been a priority be-cause it assured independence, and inde-pendence is a key element of the Jefferson County character.

In many aspects of business, local is celebrated and given lip service, but the wallet votes otherwise. Countless small town business districts gather dust across America because Bigger (and cheaper) trumps Local at a nearby discount store.

Health care today is built around government reimbursements, massive economies of scale and financial muscle. Attending to the doctor-patient relation-ship, having a local board and even curing people has to take second place to keeping the doors open because none of those other things matter if the doors shut.

Those are the issues facing the current – the last – local board of directors at Jef-ferson Regional as they negotiate the future with Mercy Health.

For months, it has been a foregone conclusion that the hospital would affiliate in some manner with a larger health care provider. The board accepted proposals from four potential partners, then chose to begin final negotiations with Mercy, the

sixth-largest Catholic health care network in the country.

Independent hospitals are dwindling. Their ability to compete for patients and physicians and to provide programs is under pressure.

The directors at Jefferson Regional were smart to recognize this before the hospital became financially stressed. They started negotiating while they still could do it from a position of strength.

Very little has been said publicly about the specifics of the Mercy merger/sale/partnership – whatever it winds up being called. The negotiations continue between executives, lawyers and board members from both organizations.

Two weeks ago, it was announced that a letter-of-intent to partner had been signed, but it was short on details or new developments.

Whatever agreement emerges probably will call for token local representation from Jefferson Regional on the Mercy board in eastern Missouri. Probably one member.

The board that will replace the current Jefferson Regional board will have some local members, but it still will be controlled by Mercy. That is to be expected – every-thing from the buildings to the bedpans will be owned by Mercy, including the responsibility to repair and replace them as needed. That’s fair – the owner should call the shots.

Where Jefferson County will still have strong representation and control is in the health care foundation that will be re-drawn at Jefferson Regional, along with a gigantic infusion of Mercy cash – basically

a payment for the buildings and the busi-ness Mercy is acquiring. The foundation will be run by an independent, local board. The current foundation there likely will be folded into the new one.

And it will have money – that Mercy cash – the amount of which has not been finalized, but which could run into tens of millions of dollars.

Whatever it is, it will be a staggering sum that the foundation will control and use to advance health care in the county. How this will be done will be determined by the new foundation’s by-laws, which are unwritten as of now.

The foundation board could set itself up forever by only spending the interest it earns. It could adopt a 20-year spend-down plan. Or something longer. Or shorter.

And where would the money go? That, too, will be up to the foundation board. It might be spent on grants to orga-nizations wanting to set up programs. How about loans or grants to build clinics in underserved areas?

It could even go to the hospital for spe-cial projects, or maybe as matching funds to nudge Mercy into upgrading its campus here ahead of something else it owns.

All of that is to be decided. The key things are, there will be a local foundation board and it will have some big financial bullets to shoot.

No, it won’t be like it was, but what is?

If the current board and administra-tion pull this off, it will be a fine, final act of community service on their part, and an excellent start on the next phase.

Local health care control will continuethrough foundation


Editorial ................. 8A-9A School ........................15A For children ...............16A Calendar ............ 18A-19AChurch .......................20A

Trivia ..........................24AObituaries .......... 28A-30A Nuptials .....................31A Outdoors ...................36AClassifieds......... 37A-43A


SPORTS Hawks win Steighorst tourney 32A GREAT EATS Going nuts for the holidays 25A

Vol. 19, No. 17 636-931-7560Thursday, December 13, 2012 www.myleaderpaper.com

Sherry Stehr of Dittmer submitted this picture of her grandson, William Creath.

Sherry Stehr of Dittmer is snap-happy when it comes to her grandkids. “I love taking pictures of them,”

she said. Stehr’s camera habit won grand prize

honors and $100 in the annual Leader Family Christmas Album contest. Her photo of her chubby-cheeked grandson, William Creath, was drawn at random

Leader Family Christmas Albumon Pages 1B-28B

New name: Mercy Hospital Jefferson By Patrick MartinFor the Leader

Jefferson County’s only full-service hospital will undergo its second name change in the last five years when it

becomes Mercy Hospital Jefferson in early 2013.

The change is more significant than the one in 2008 when the hospital made an internal decision to change its longtime name, Jefferson Memorial Hospital, to Jefferson Regional Medical Center.

This time, the new name signifies a partnership between the Crystal City hos-pital and Mercy, the sixth-largest Catholic health care system in the country.

The agreement was announced by Jefferson Regional’s board in August

Crystal City gives preliminary OK to lease extension for smelter site

Fox: Out with the old, in with the newBy Kim Robertsonand Clementine CarberyFor the Leader

Bleachers at Fox High School’s football field have been taken down and are on their way to the

Jefferson R-7 School District in rural Festus, which bought them for $30,000.

The Fox School District is replacing the bleachers as part of $3,383,000 in renovations under way at athletic fields

Gordon Bess photoAt Fox High School, crews disassemble bleachers that have been sold to the Jefferson R-7 School District.See BLEACHERS, Page 12A

See ALBUM, Page 5A

Mercy!Hospital deal heading for Dec. 31 close

See HOSPITAL, Page 10A

Matt O’Harver photoSanta babyEarline Pruitte holds her great-granddaughter, Paytin Blanton, at the De Soto Masons Breakfast with Santa event Saturday. Seventy-five children and their families attended. The event raised $371 for De Soto Contact.

See CRYSTAL CITY, Page 13A

By Steve TaylorFor the Leader

The Crystal City Council has taken the first steps to extend the lease for the former PPG Industries site,

where construction of an iron ore process-ing facility is proposed.

The city signed a 100-year lease in 2007 with Jim Kennedy of Wings En-terprises that called for the plant to start production within five years.

With Dec. 19, the five-year anniver-

sary of that deal, looming, the Crystal City Council met in closed session for two hours on Nov. 27 and for another hour on Dec. 10 before giving unanimous preliminary approval to a lease extension.

A final vote on the extension likely will be taken at the council’s meeting on Dec. 17.

The city has agreed to give PRR Processing Inc., which acquired Wings in 2011, another five years to build the

Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012Jefferson County Leader8A

PatrickMartin

OPINIONSThe Jefferson County Leader is pub-lished weekly by Leader Publications Inc. at its office at 503 N. Second St., Festus, Mo. 63028-9911. Periodicals postage paid at Festus, MO, Permit No. 25069. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Jefferson County Leader, P.O. Box 159, Festus, Mo. 63028-9911.






Jefferson Regional’s new foundation comes out better than Powerball winners

The Jefferson Memorial Community Foundation is about to get more money than the recent Powerball

winners.The two winners, from Missouri and

Arizona, each got around $190 million before taxes. After taxes, depending on the state, they’ll take home around $115 million to $120 million each.

The foundation asssociated with Jeffferson Regional Medical Center is about to get $140 million – and there are no taxes.

That is the amount Mercy, the sixth-largest Catholic health care system in the country, will pay into the newly consti-tuted foundation to compensate Jefferson Regional for essentially selling its hospi-tal campus and equipment to Mercy.

But wait, there’s more.When the deal closes, on Dec. 31 if

all goes well, there will be commitments from Mercy for $110 million for a new patient tower at the Crystal City campus, $40 million for physician recruitment, $15 million for information technol-ogy upgrades and other pledges that will bring the total north of – drum roll, please! – $350 million.

None of those numbers has been an-nounced yet, but it’s hard to keep a deal that big a secret with so many people involved in the talks.

There’s more good news. All em-ployees will keep their jobs if they are in good standing. Pay, pension, seniority and other benefits are maintained.

And the foundation will have a mountain of money to manage and use for grants to improve health care in Jef-ferson County.

Win. Win. Win. We in the news game sometimes are

more comfortable pointing out what’s wrong with public institutions, probably because that’s what we’re supposed to do. As we tell the school kids who tour our building, they’ll never see a headline that says, “999 planes land safely.”

In this case, though, we’re talking about a business story that trumps any-thing that’s happened in this county since PPG shut down its glass plant more than 20 years ago.

This is a massive deal, not just in dollars, but in what it means to the com-munity.

There are some nostalgic, even sad, elements to it. Jefferson Memorial Hos-pital, which became Jefferson Regional

Medical Center a few years ago, has served the community since 1957. Fifty-six years later it will not exist, at least not in that form.

There no longer will be a board of directors made up strictly of local people. There will be five locals out of 15 on the board of Mercy Hospital Jefferson, as the hospital will be called, but new owner Mercy will have 10 members and will call the shots, as owners should.

But the Jefferson Memorial Com-munity Foundation board will be all local people except for one Mercy representative.

All the original JMH board members and founders are gone, but I’ve got to be-lieve they would be OK with what their successors are doing.

The originals, and the board mem-bers there today, fought the good fight to keep up in the ever-changing medical world. They worried about competitors filching their customers and their em-ployees.

They worried about money and financ-ing the buildings and machines and tech-nology that were necessary to keep pace.

They worried about payroll and doc-tor relations and public relations. They worried about bad roofs and bad riffs in the press, parking lot potholes and nego-tiating potholes, HMOs and PPOs.

In recent years, they cringed as gov-ernment took a larger role in health care,

telling health care providers what they could charge and when they’d be paid. They watched as competitors loomed, threatening their margins and bank bal-ances, the rivals growing ever larger and more powerful as they encircled inde-pendent hospitals.

Yet they hung on, because this was Jefferson County’s hospital, dammit, and should be run by and for Jefferson Countians.

Finally, they made the gutsy de-cision to begin looking for a partner while they were still strong financially and could negotiate from a position of strength. Then, they made a heck of a deal that should enhance health care in the community.

Instead of fearing the financial mus-cle of the big organizations, Jefferson County will benefit from it. It will have a pile of money, still in local hands, with which to continue the mission started by Jefferson Memorial Hospital’s founders in 1957.

The foundation will be the rich great-uncle, with no worries and few responsibilities other than deciding the wisest use of his funds. That’s a good gig.

Every resident, patient and future patient should thank the board members for negotiating a perpetual legacy to the work that began so long ago.

They did a great job.

Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012Jefferson County Leader10A

TIRED OF TAKING PAIN MEDICATION?NOT WANTING SURGERY OR INJECTIONS?

www.DrPaulAmato.com

Paul Amato, D.C.5207 Warren Road, Imperial, MO 63052(Intersection of W. Outer Rd. & Miller Rd.)

Eliminate Back & Neck Pain Now!!Affordable, Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression

Therapy for the Neck AND/OR Low Back

Any Questions?Please Call: (636) 464-5900

Proven Effective for:• Herniated/Bulging Discs• Degenerative Discs• Sciatica• Spinal Stenosis• Generalized Neck/Back Pain

MostInsurancesAccepted

FREE EXAM& X-RAYS*

Call now to schedule an appointment*X-rays only if necessary. Medicare rules apply. Expiration date 12-31-12.

9th and Delmar, Festus, MOCall For Current Prices 636-937-9185

Festus

ALSO BUYING COPPER, BRASS AND

ALUMINUM CANS

PAYING TOP $ DOLLAR $At $210* net ton

for Car Bodies and Sheet Metal

*Prices subject to change without notice.

www.gokimmswick.com636.464.6464

Wishing you aMerry Christmas and

Happy New Year!from: The Kimmswick Merchants

“2nd Fridays” OPEN LATE FRIDAY,

DECEMBER 14 For Holiday Shopping and Dining Pleasure!!!

k Girlfriends Day “Shop Til Tea” Saturday, December 15

Shopping Passport, Lunch @ Blue Owl, Tea Party with Santa and Prizes. For Reservations Call 636-464-3128.

News

after it had spent several months evalu-ating sale/merger agreements from four potential suitors.

A Dec. 31 closing date is expected to transfer the assets from the local hospital association to Mercy.

The two organizations released a joint statement last week announcing that an interim president, Donn Sorensen, had been named. Sorensen has been a Mercy executive for 12 years and currently serves as regional president for Mercy East, the St. Louis-based region of the system.

Jeff Buck, a Jefferson Regional ex-ecutive who has come out of retirement twice to fill administrative jobs for the hospital, will continue as interim CEO until Mercy appoints a permanent CEO.

Buck, 61, said Monday he anticipated that would happen in the first half of 2013, after which Buck will attempt his third retirement. He has served in his current position since November 2011.

For the past six weeks, Jefferson Regional employees have been receiving partnership updates.

Hospital spokesman John Winkel-man said Mercy, which has been through mergers before in other communities, began the process with a list of an-ticipated questions and answers. It then opened up an online Q&A for Jefferson Regional employees and has continued with weekly updates as the closing date approaches.

Some of the key issues for employees included:

■ Job security. All employees in good standing will have jobs on Jan. 1. They will not have to reapply for their posi-tions, but will have to fill out paperwork to become Mercy employees. Jefferson Regional, a 251-bed hospital, has 1,379 employees, including full-time and part-time workers.

■ Seniority will be preserved. A 10-year Jefferson Regional employee will be

Hospital: Sorensen named interim president; Buck continues as interim CEOa 10-year Mercy em-ployee at the transi-tion. All prior service time counts toward accumulating vaca-tion time and vesting in the 401K plan.

■ The Jefferson Regional retirement plan will end, but accumulated balances will transfer to the Mercy plan. Winkelman said the plans are similar.

■ Tuition reimbursement will con-tinue, though Mercy pays upon suc-cessful completion of coursework while Jefferson Regional paid the tuition bill in advance.

In a broader sense, Buck said issues that concerned local board members, as they looked for a partner, have been satisfied.

“We’re going to see an improved facility with a new patient tower with private rooms completed within five years,” Buck said. “Whoever we found, we wanted to be committed to help ser-vices grow, not take services out of here. And that’s what we have.”

Representatives of the 15-member Jefferson Regional board visited other communities whose hospitals became Mercy hospitals. Buck said those com-munities, 10 to 20 years out from the mergers, were able to testify that Mercy kept its promises.

On the new patient tower, for ex-ample, Buck said local contractors will get to bid.

“We found (in the other communi-ties) they were using local people on their projects.”

Buck said the new Mercy Hospital Jefferson board will have five represen-tatives from the old Jefferson Regional board and up to 10 Mercy people on the board. None of those appointees have been named publicly.

Jefferson Regional will get one mem-ber on the larger Mercy board.

In addition, there will be a local board set up for the recon-stituted Jefferson Me-morial Community Foundation, which will administer a lump sum that Mercy is expected to pay the foundation upon

closing. That will be an all-local board except for one representative from Mercy.

There will be at least one noticeable change in health services. As a member of a Catholic health care system, Mercy Hospital Jefferson will not offer steriliza-tions such as tubal ligations or vasecto-mies, which Jefferson Regional did and still does.

“We will have to adhere to Mercy’s ethical and religious directives,” Buck said.

However, physicians who maintain offices in town will not be prohibited from performing those procedures in their offices or clinics.

Buck said Monday there was still a lot of work left to be done to make the Dec. 31 closing. Neither organization uses the calendar year as a fiscal year, but that date was set, he said, as both a goal and to give employees some certainty as to what was happening and when.

“There’s a certain anxiety there,” Buck said. “We’d like to get this done.”

The name change will become of-

Donn Sorensen Jeff Buck

ficial in early spring, a press release said, to allow changes in signage, name badges and other materials.

Continued from Page 1A

“We’re going to see an improved facility with a new patient tower with private rooms completed within five years.”

Jeff Buck, Interim CEOMercy Hospital Jefferson

Documents

Sale of Jefferson Regional Medical Center