St. Luke director declares resignation

Committee developing clinic’s new funding model

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

Betsy Bond, the director of St. Luke Free Clinic since 2009, is resigning effective Sept. 27.

Bond said she needs to spend more time with her family. If she works, it will be to resume the office organization business she did before taking this job, she said.

Bond is leaving at a pivotal time in the life of the organization. Leaders of the Christian County Health Department decided in June they cannot afford to continue paying the salaries of the free clinic’s staff after June of next year, so a committee is now researching alternative funding models.

But Bond said she’s not just jumping ship out of concern that St. Luke won’t last.

“I see St. Luke there in the future in some form,” she said. “The staff is wonderful. The board has been dedicated.”

Jennie Stuart finance chief resigning

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

Sam Brown, who has overseen all of Jennie Stuart Medical Center’s financial affairs for the last 15 years, will be leaving the hospital Nov. 2 to work for a medical system in Texas.

Eric Lee, the hospital’s president and chief executive officer, praised Brown’s qualities as a manager and his skill at communicating with the board of trustees. Beyond Brown’s advanced knowledge of health finance, Lee believes these leadership qualities will make him hard to replace.

“It’s not just about bookkeeping,” Lee said Tuesday. “I’ve teased Sam about wanting a clone for his replacement.”

Hospital’s credit rating downgraded

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

Because of decreases in business, a small revenue base and a large debt load, a rating agency downgraded the bond credit rating of Jennie Stuart Medical Center this week from BBB+ to BBB.

This means the hospital may have to pay a higher interest rate if it needs to borrow money in the near future.

But Sam Brown, Jennie Stuart’s vice president of financial services, said it won’t affect rates the hospital pays on current loans.

“It really has no impact on our financials at all, currently,” Brown said Thursday. “It’s a little disappointing that we had the downgrade, but it’s happening to a lot of hospitals around the country.”

JSMC credit rating downgraded

Fitch Ratings, one of the three major credit rating agencies in the U.S., downgraded Jennie Stuart Medical Center's rating from BBB+ to BBB. Fitch's analysts cited declines in inpatient the hospital was rendering, a small revenue base, and a large debt load.

The downgrade apparently won't affect the hospital's finances for now. But if it needs to borrow money in the near future, this rating could lead to higher interest rates.

In addition to the story in Friday's paper, the analysts' report is available here as a PDF.