St. Luke Gets a Shot in Arm After Change in Ownership
It has been only three months since Summit Health Ltd. took over ownership of the formerly Catholic St. Luke Hospital, but things are already beginning to change as Summit acts to rejuvenate and make profitable the operation of the beloved but antiquated 167-bed facility.
“I’m excited about the changes,” said Barbara Sirignano, the head nurse in the hospital’s progressive care ward who has been with St. Luke for six years.
“There will be so many more things we will offer to the community,” she said. “Before we were mainly geriatrics, but with the new obstetrics unit and operating rooms, we will be more full-service.”
Face Lift in Progress
Preliminary work has begun on improving the grounds, and the south wing, which will be totally remodeled later, is now getting a paint job and new flooring.
The announcement in October of the sale of the 167-bed facility, now named St. Luke Medical Center, sent ripples of surprise through the health-care and Catholic communities because Catholic hospitals are almost never sold to profit-making concerns.
But officials of St. Joseph Health Systems, which manages seven hospitals for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, said the order could not afford the capital improvements necessary for the 52-year-old facility, and that St. Luke’s longstanding reputation for offering more personalized patient care than its larger counterparts was not enough to make it competitive with other hospitals in the area.
As part of the deal, Summit agreed to spend more than $4 million on capital improvements and at the same time to strive to maintain the caring atmosphere that drew many patients to the hospital, said Harry Adams, executive director who administers the hospital for Summit.
But in turning the hospital around financially, Summit has had to lay off about 10% of the hospital’s work force.
‘Lot of Dead Wood’
“There was a lot of dead wood, not enough work to go around, a lot of people pushing paper,” said Sharon Connell, an emergency room nurse who has worked at St. Luke for six years.
“It was like a family but it was not functional,” she said. Adams said the hospital now has 444 full-time employees.
Adams said that Summit will concentrate on aesthetics during the early stages of the renovation, because he believes the hospital will draw more patients if it looks more appealing.
One of Summit’s first steps will be to paint the dingy hospital, which has been repainted only once in the past 52 years.
$5-Million Building Planned
“We plan on a soft peach color to replace the sandy beige,” Adams said. “We are trying to retain the flavor of the old building--we don’t want it to look new, but we do want it to look classy.”
The hospital layout will be reorganized, and a $5-million building, which will house new operating rooms and an obstetrics department, will be constructed next to the main hospital, which sits on 13 acres of land on East Washington Boulevard near Altadena Drive.
Most of the new programs will focus on services for women.
“Women make the family decisions on health care, including choosing doctors and hospitals,” Adams said. “So we will establish a women’s health program that will run the gamut from osteoporosis to pre-menstrual syndrome.
“And we will reinstate the maternity department, with a birthing center and obstetrics in feminine decor. Obstetrics is the most pleasant hospital experience, so it is a good way to get patients come back.”
Plan to Offer Abortions
The hospital had discontinued its maternity department 10 years ago when birth rates declined. When the department reopens, probably within two years, the hospital will offer abortions for the first time.
St. Luke also will establish a diabetes treatment center and expand its substance abuse program to include outpatient programs for alcohol and drug abusers.
Most of the employees interviewed expressed enthusiasm about the new programs, but agreed that the transition has been difficult.
‘Dust Has Settled’
“It was extremely difficult during the changeover because it was a long time and people didn’t know if they would lose their jobs,” said Karen Powell, director of medical services, which provides administrative and clerical support for doctors on the staff.
“Now the ax has fallen and the dust has settled and things will get back to normal fairly soon,” she said.
“The biggest negative has been some people leaving voluntarily who have been here for a long time,” said Sirignano.
“They didn’t want to cope with the change. A lot of St. Luke was run the way it was done in the 1930s and 1940s and needed to be redone.”
Changes in Staffing
In addition to voluntary resignations, 44 employees were laid off, mostly workers in jobs unrelated to patient care, such as secretarial, dietary and housekeeping duties.
Adams said that before Summit took over, the hospital had been staffed to accommodate a bed occupancy rate of 60% to 70%. But in the wake of new restrictions imposed on Medicare patients in 1983, average occupancy had dropped to about 50%, Adams said.
“It was a major change for us,” said Sharon Connell, a nurse in the emergency room, which lost two people to layoffs and another who resigned.
“It was hard to adjust because we were used to being overstaffed so the workload was not too hard. Before we worked eight hours, five days a week, but we voted to work 12-hour shifts and a three-day week.”
No More Cuts Foreseen
“I don’t foresee any more cuts and we will hire more people if we get more patients,” Adams said, adding that St. Luke also has bid for a Medi-Cal contract which could bring in an additional 10 patients a day.
So far, Summit has not been able to draw a substantial number of new patients. But, Adams said, “doctors who have not been here for years have said they will come back. And the public is waiting for the renovation.”
But Connell said she thinks there may be too much emphasis on the face lift.
“Patients remember they had nurses who cared--they don’t remember pretty bed linen,” she said.
Vestiges of Past
Summit apparently will be able to retain two major strengths of the former hospital--its advisory board and an active volunteer program.
The advisory board is composed of 40 Pasadena area businessmen and residents who have worked over the years to keep St. Luke in touch with the community.
“I think we will have 90% of the same people and I expect more interest because the hospital no longer has a religious affiliation,” Adams said. “We have had strong support from the advisory board. They represent the community and we have to please the community.”
The fate of the volunteer program had been uncertain because many had expressed interest in serving only a Catholic hospital while others were doubtful about the role of volunteers in a for-profit hospital.
Few Volunteers Drop Out
But of St. Luke’s 180 volunteers, only about 10 have dropped out.
The two volunteer groups, the St. Luke Auxiliary and the San Marino Guild of St. Luke Hospital, have incorporated into one nonprofit organization, the St. Luke Medical Center Volunteers.
The group provides patient services and financial support for items the hospital would not ordinarily provide for patients, such as educational materials to show cardiac and diabetic patients what has happened to their bodies and scholarships for health careers. It raises money through a gift shop and a thrift shop.
Because the hospital is now owned by a profit-making company, it has lost the St. Luke Foundation and the $2.7 million donated to it since it was established in 1979 to raise funds for capital improvements to the hospital.
Reorganized Foundation
The foundation, which changed its name to the Patron Saints Foundation, has reorganized, becoming the second-largest foundation in Pasadena, and its funds, which were raised in the community for specifically for health care, now will go to health-care activities in the Pasadena area.
“We have set up the mechanics of the organization, and we have application forms for agencies to apply for grants,” said foundation President Fred Lyte said.
“The grants will range from $5,000 to $25,000 and will generally come from the income we earn from our capital,” Lyte said. “We will review grant applications starting in September and the first money will be given in December.”
Although the transition has been difficult, employees are resigned to the new St. Luke under Summit ownership.
“Morale is improving because we like the new shifts and we know if the hospital hadn’t been sold it wouldn’t have been open much longer,” Connell said.
