1. Have to be careful about partners’ retirements. If a physician retires and the hospital transfers ownership, it must be careful not to accidentally nudge the total percentage of physician ownership, which is not allowed to change.
2. Need to rethink ongoing $27 million expansion. This nearly complete project at a remote site was supposed to be a clinic to support the hospital, but “we’ve had to completely rethink it,” Dr. Dietz says. It might have been redesignated as a separate hospital, pushing the deadline to the end of the year, but he says physician-owners are not interested in opening a separate hospital. Instead, OrthoIndy is considering using the new space for rehab, medical office space or administrative functions.
3. Have to cancel $47 million expansion at main campus. The project would have addressed overcrowding at the main campus. With 42 beds and 10 ORs, its beds are completely filled two to three nights a week. To relieve overcrowding, the hospital is trying to push cases to later in the week or even the weekend, but Dr. Dietz says physicians and patients prefer surgery on the weekdays. Patients want a chance to recover on the weekend and thus take less time off from work.
