Good Samaritan final decision made night before announcement

Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton will close by the end of 2018.

Premier Health announced on Wednesday that the hospital, based on the northwest side of Dayton, will shut down by the end of 2018. The health network — the largest private employer in the region — said the closure is “part of Premier Health’s new strategic plan.”

Here’s what we know about the closure now:

MAKING A DECISION: Mary Garman, chief operating officer at Good Sam, said there were several options that were looked at before the decision was made to close the Dayton hospital. She said company executives have been examining closing options for "many, many" months. The Premier Health Board of Trustees approved the closing Tuesday night before the announcement was made Wednesday morning, shocking many in the community.

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WHY IS THE HOSPITAL SHUTTING DOWN? Premier said it was unsustainable to operate two hospitals within five miles of each other. "The impact of national changes in the health care industry, compounded by the changing face of Dayton over the past decade, made clear that Premier Health had to make significant changes to continue to serve the entire region and reach patients in innovative ways in their communities going forward," Premier officials said on Wednesday morning.

SEE HOW MUCH HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATORS EARN

JOBS AVAILABLE: Several nurses who spoke to our reporters said Premier Health has told them jobs will be available to them at other facilities and many said they previously worked at multiple locations. Bryan Bucklew, president and CEO of the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association, said when St. Elizabeth's Hospital closed that within six months that around 97 percent of the laid off staff were employed again and most were in the Dayton region.

“There’s demand in the sector for health care employees,” Bucklew said.

HEALTH SERVICES TO CONTINUE: There will still be health services at the Good Sam site since the Five Rivers Health Center is staying. The federally qualified health center was built two years ago in the west end of the hospital's Hepburn parking lot.

The health center has about 30 residents and teaching physicians and is home to services like primary care, management of chronic diseases, behavioral health, women’s health, low risk obstetrical care and is a Centering Pregnancy site, which is a prenatal care and support group program that improves birth outcomes.

» TRENDING COVERAGE: Good Samaritan Hospital closing: What we know now

CATHOLIC ROOTS: The hospitals' roots stem back to the Sisters of Charity with the Catholic church, which partnered with the city to open the hospital in 1932.

Premier Health and Catholic Health Initiatives first formed a partnership 25 years ago that was an operating and revenue sharing agreement.

The hospital’s affiliation with the Denver-based Catholic health network however was restructured in recent years so that Catholic Health Initiatives still sponsors the Catholic mission of the hospital, but Premier had the sole authority to make the decision to close the hospital.

» MUST-READ HOSPITAL NEWS: Good Samaritan Hospital: Leaders saddened, concerned by closure

WILL OTHER PREMIER HOSPITALS CLOSE? No. Other Premier hospital will not be impacted. "Premier Health's strategic plan encompasses the entire organization and calls for continued investment in higher acuity services and critical programs at Atrium Medical Center. It also remains committed to ensuring Upper Valley Medical Center remains the leading ambulatory and surgically focused community hospital in its region," the company explained in a statement.

REMAINING HOSPITALS IN REGION

1. Upper Valley Medical Center - Premier Health

2. Good Samaritan Hospital - Premier Health

3. Grandview Medical Center - Kettering Health

4. Miami Valley Hospital - Premier Halth

5. Soin Medical Center - Kettering Health

6. Kettering Medical Center - Kettering Health

7. Kettering Behavioral Medicine - Kettering Health

8. Miami Valley Hospital South - Premier Health

9. Greene Memorial Hospital - Kettering Health

10. Sycamore Medical Center - Kettering Health

11. Southview Medical Center - Kettering Health

12. Atrium Medical Center - Premier Health

13. Fort Hamilton Hospital - Kettering Health

» MUST-READ BUSINESS NEWS: 5 things you need to know about Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton

HOW WILL HOSPITAL DECIDE FUTURE: Community input will be sought for what comes next for the Good Samaritan Hospital after the 85-year-old institution is torn down, but there is no timetable, Premier officials said. The changes at Good Samaritan won't all come at once, but by the end of the year 1,600 employees will shifted off site and the Dayton hospital's main campus will have ceased operations. Premier Health said it just launched a three-year strategic plan that calls for closing down the hospital.

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