Mercyhealth is a non-profit health care system based in Rockford, Illinois. It is a regional health care system with over 85 facilities serving a total of 55 communities throughout southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.[1] As part of its diversified, vertically integrated system, Mercyhealth operates over four core service areas: hospital-based services; clinic-based services; post-acute care and retail services; and a wholly owned and operated insurance company.[2]
 | |
| Company type | Non-profit organization |
|---|---|
| Industry | Health care |
| Founded | 1883 in Janesville, Wisconsin, United States |
| Founder | Henry Palmer |
| Headquarters | Janesville, Wisconsin |
Number of locations | Six |
Area served | Southern Wisconsin, Northern Illinois |
Key people | Javon R. Bea, CEO Henry Palmer, Founder |
| Revenue | $1.3 billion |
Number of employees | 6,750 |
| Website | www |
History edit
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The original Janesville City Hospital was founded in 1883 by Dr. Henry Palmer, a Civil War surgeon general who had trained Daniel Hale Williams, an African American surgeon who, in 1893, was the first physician to successfully perform an open heart surgery. Dr. Williams spent two years as an apprentice to Dr. Henry Palmer. The hospital was later renamed Palmer Memorial Hospital and was operated by his son Dr. William Palmer. Soon after it was bought by the Sisters of Mercy of Chicago who renamed it Palmer Memorial Mercy Hospital. The Mercy Sisters worked as trained nurses during the Civil War, and after the war they took on the work of public health care. Need for expansion led to the Sisters of Mercy opening a 50-bed Mercy Hospital facility in Janesville in 1913, which eventually grew through renovation into a 150-bed facility by 1920.[3]
In the second half of the 20th century the Sisters of Mercy began to divest itself of its health care holdings, including the Janesville hospital, and Mercy became an independent organization. At that same time, Mercyhealth grew out of their old hospital and built a 275-bed facility in downtown Janesville, WI. This facility is the current site of Mercyhealth Hospital and Trauma Center.
In 1989, Mercyhealth's volunteer board of directors selected Javon R. Bea as its president and CEO. When Bea became CEO, Mercyhealth could only claim $33 million in annual revenue, had only 589 total employees in a single hospital location, and only saw an estimated 89,000 patients yearly. As of 2020, Mercyhealth sees an average of 1.2 million patients every year, employs over 6,750 people across 85 locations, and can claim $1.3 billion in annual revenue.[4]
Rockford Hospital opened in 1855 and was the city's first hospital. By 1913, the hospital outgrew its 11-patient capacity in a made-over home at South Court and Chestnut streets, and a 30-patient hospital was built, with the hospital's name being changed to Rockford Memorial Hospital in 1942. The Court-Chestnut location would serve the area until July 1954, when a new building was constructed on North Rockton Avenue.[5]
On October 23, 2014, the boards of Rockford Health System and Mercy Health System agreed to a merger.[6]
The merged system includes six hospitals, more than 515 physicians, 6,475 employees and 85 outpatient and specialty care clinics in Illinois and Wisconsin. In January 2019, they opened a $505 million hospital and physician clinic in Rockford called Mercyhealth's Javon Bea Hospital and Physician Clinic–Riverside. In addition, the hospital on the Mercyhealth Rockton Avenue campus (formerly Rockford Memorial) was renamed to Javon Bea Hospital.[7]
Recent events edit
In 2023, Mercyhealth opened the Mercyhealth Hospital and Physician Clinic–Crystal Lake, a $105 million new facility.
In 2023, Mercyhealth opened a 12,000-square-foot Kidney Care and Dialysis Center in Janesville.
In 2022, Mercyhealth announced a partnership with Blackhawk Technical College in Janesville, WI to assist students going into health care by offering five full-ride scholarships.[8]
In 2021, Mercyhealth Javon Bea Hospital–Rockton transitioned to a standby emergency department.[9] The decision came after extensive evaluation of the needs and utilization of the Rockton Avenue campus. The review showed the majority of patients accessing the emergency department did not need emergency care and could be treated at an urgent care facility.[10]
In June 2020, Mercyhealth announced the closure of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, which was only lightly used.[11][12] The following month, the inpatient acute mental illness closed for similar reasons. Outpatient mental health services continue to be offered.[13][14]
On April 22, 2020, Mercyhealth announced that the health system was terminating contracts with IlliniCare, Meridian, Molina, and Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicaid due financial difficulties from the COVID pandemic and a reduction in income from Medicaid and other health insurance providers.[15][16][17]
On March 23, 2020, Mercyhealth announced unpaid furloughs to an undisclosed number of employees due to the COVID pandemic.[18] Mercyhealth then reduced salaries for employees in leadership positions and physicians system-wide. This included the President and CEO, Javon Bea. In 2018, Javon Bea's salary was $9.36 million.[19][20]
In 2019, Mercyhealth opened Javon Bea Hospital and Physician Clinic–Riverside, a $505 million new facility.[21]
Recognition edit
Mercyhealth has received awards for health care, work place culture, organizational leadership, community outreach and more including:
- The Mercyhealth Care Center was named among the “Best Nursing Homes” in the country by US News & World Report.[22]
References edit
- ^ "About Mercyhealth". Retrieved July 15, 2019.
- ^ "About Mercyhealth". Retrieved 2015-10-16.
- ^ "Medical History of Janesville, Wisconsin: 1833 – 1933". Retrieved 2015-10-16.
- ^ "About Mercy Health System". Retrieved 2015-10-16.
- ^ "Rockford Memorial Hospital through the years". www.rrstar.com. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
- ^ "Rockford hospital merges with Wisconsin's Mercy Health". Crain's Chicago Business. 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
- ^ "Mercyhealth names Rockford hospitals after CEO Javon Bea". Retrieved 2018-10-17.
- ^ "Mercyhealth and Blackhawk Technical College announce scholarship program to enhance the lives of several students". www.mercyhealthsystem.org. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
- ^ "Mercyhealth Javon Bea Hospital–Rockton to transition to standby emergency department beginning tomorrow". Mercyhealth. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
- ^ "Mercyhealth Javon Bea Hospital–Rockton to transition to standby emergency department beginning tomorrow". www.mercyhealthsystem.org. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
- ^ Newsroom, WIFR. "Mercyhealth closes PICU, citing area population not big enough for operation". wifr.com. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
- ^ "Perinatal Regionalization". dph.illinois.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
- ^ Newsroom, WIFR. "Mercyhealth petitions to dismantle mental illness ward". wifr.com. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
- ^ Kolkey, Jeff. "Mercyhealth closes Rockford mental health unit without public hearing, state approval". Rockford Register Star. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
- ^ Newsroom, WIFR. "Mercyhealth no longer accepting patients with IlliniCare, Meridian, Molina Medicaid". wifr.com. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
- ^ Andrew Carrigan (2020-05-12). "Mercyhealth at risk of losing millions of federal dollars after eliminating multiple Medicaid providers". WREX. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
- ^ Guerrero, Isaac. "U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos slams Mercyhealth CEO for refusing Medicaid patients in Rockford". Rockford Register Star. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
- ^ McCallum, Ashley. "Mercyhealth puts undisclosed number of employees on unpaid furlough". GazetteXtra. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
- ^ Andrew Carrigan (2020-04-22). "Mercyhealth to implement salary cuts". WREX. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
- ^ Jan 23rd 2020 - 10am, Jeff Kiger / Forum News Service | (23 January 2020). "Mayo Clinic executives salaries are climbing faster than bedside staff". West Central Tribune. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Newsroom, WIFR. "MercyHealth introduces half-billion-dollar Javon Bea Hospital". wifr.com. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
- ^ "U.S. News & World Report names Mercyhealth Care Center among "Best Nursing Homes" in the country". www.mercyhealthsystem.org. Retrieved 2022-12-23.