OSF HealthCare is in the process of moving specialized cardiac care for east Central Illinois to the Twin Cities as the hospital system increases behavioral health services at its Urbana medical center.
In a press conference this week, president of OSF hospitals in Urbana and Danville JT Barnhart said those communities will consolidate its hospitals into two campuses under one name, transferring the facilities’ cardiac surgeons and specialists to OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington.
Recent capital improvements to St. Joseph's operating rooms and intensive care facilities were among the reasons for the change. Another was a needs assessment showing Urbana’s acute need for more behavioral health services.
“We feel like a regional alignment around cardiac in Bloomington is going to make the most sense,” Barnhart said. “OSF has seen what the demand for services is for us as an organization. Behavioral health, loud and clear—that’s the service that we need to expand in Urbana. We want to make sure we’re putting the right services in the right place to best care for the communities we serve.”
As part of that transition, Urbana’s Heart of Mary Medical Center will adopt the same name as OSF Sacred Heart Medical Center in Danville.
According to Barnhart, the Urbana hospital received $13 million to expand inpatient mental health care. Specific attention will be paid to geriatric psychiatry, comorbidity and services for adults ages 18-26 to better serve the University of Illinois community. The Urbana and Danville campuses will continue offering emergency, diagnostic/imaging and lab services. Urbana will also maintain outreach clinics focused on cardiology, pediatrics and obstetrics. More specialized needs at those clinics will be referred to regional partners like St. Joe's.
“We’re trying to make it as seamless as possible for all existing patients of OSF,” Barnhart said, adding that telehealth will be available to some patients who are unable to travel for services.
“It really is a regional alignment around those specialty services,” he said.
Barnhart anticipates needing 250 staff to run Urbana’s planned 40-bed behavioral health unit as well as a 25-bed medical unit and emergency room. In a press release, OSF noted more than 170 currently open positions across their network. Barnhart said he hopes that flexibility will allow them to retain workers whose positions are being relocated.
“As we meet with providers and specialists and see where the volume is going to shift, that’ll dictate some of the staffing models,” Barnhart said. “It is our absolute desire to keep as many as we can within the organization.”
Barnhart said the transition should be fully complete by the end of the year, with the shift of cardiac care expected to be done by September.
