Lawrenceburg, IN— St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Highpoint Health have signed a Letter of Intent outlining an agreement to integrate Highpoint Health and its associated physician group, Highpoint Health Physician Partners, into the St. Elizabeth system.
Transitioning Highpoint Health into the St. Elizabeth system comes on the heels of other collaborations between the two healthcare systems. Recently, the two systems began working together on the development of a new cancer center in Dearborn County. Additionally, when Highpoint Health, like so many rural hospitals across the nation, began facing significant financial challenges from COVID-19, St. Elizabeth provided assistance to help stabilize the financial outlook for the system. Unfortunately, the significant financial strain made it impossible for Highpoint to recover.
As currently proposed, St. Elizabeth Healthcare would assume operations as of August 1, 2020. St. Elizabeth would also operate the hospital and outpatient services under the name St. Elizabeth Dearborn, and Highpoint Health Physician Partners would join St. Elizabeth Physicians.
In this transition, St. Elizabeth plans to invest approximately $50 million in capital projects and technology
The transition approach proposed by St. Elizabeth Healthcare’s intended investment into the facility and services:
- Stabilize Highpoint Health financial operations
- Plan for future healthcare delivery needs, in consultation with physicians and the community
- Open a Cancer Care Center at the Greendale campus in 2021-22
- Build an expanded healthcare facility to meet the comprehensive healthcare needs of the community
