Decatur General Hospital will employ a consulting firm to help with its strategic planning.

The hospital has not signed a contract with Community Hospital Corp. of Plano, Texas, but will likely do so in the near future, Chief Executive Officer Dean Griffin said.

Mike Williams, who is president and CEO of the firm, met Tuesday night with the medical staff.

He laid out a list of options for Decatur General that includes everything from maintaining the status quo to selling, merging or affiliating with another hospital.

“We’re looking at a long range of options, but I can tell you selling is highly unlikely,” Griffin said.

Griffin said the Physicians Advisory Committee recommended that Decatur General hire the firm.

“They want us to investigate whether we should partner with some other hospital,” he said.

According to its Web site, Community Hospital Corp. formed in 1996 for the purpose of preserving the not-for-profit status of community-based hospitals.

Declining numbers

Like hospitals nationwide, Decatur General has struggled with declining patient numbers, increased uncompensated care and lower insurance reimbursements.

The hospital lost $8.2 million in fiscal 2008 and showed a $5.2 million operating loss at the end of fiscal 2009.

Two options Williams mentioned to the medical staff Tuesday were an affiliation with Huntsville Hospital or a merger with Parkway Medical Center.

“He wasn’t saying those are our only options,” Griffin said.

“He said if you look at our market, those are the two most likely places to look.”

Decatur General has talked with Huntsville Hospital.

‘High level’ meetings

Huntsville Hospital CEO David Spillers called the meetings “high level.” He said they were designed to see if Decatur and Huntsville could help each other.

Neither hospital could discuss what specifically happened in the meetings because both signed confidentiality agreements.

Capella Healthcare, which owns Parkway and Hartselle Medical Center, made an offer in February to merge Morgan County’s three hospitals.

While there have been mergers between not-for-profit and investor-owned hospitals, Griffin said Capella’s offer was not acceptable.

“Go ask them,” he said in February when asked about the details of Capella’s offer.

Griffin said any talks of mergers or affiliations are premature.

He said the main things Williams will do is facilitate meetings and help Decatur General with its strategic and business planning.

“They’re going to make sure we have input from all parties, especially the medical staff,” Griffin said.

Community Hospital Corp. is no stranger to North Alabama.

Huntsville Hospital, Coffee Hospital Group in Florence and Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield are clients.

Special projects

According to its Web site, the consulting wing of the organization was founded in 2006 to assist hospitals with special projects and opportunities for joint ventures.

If Decatur General affiliates with another hospital, Griffin said, it will not be the first time.

He said the hospital is part of Health Group of Alabama, which includes Decatur General, Marshall Medical, Huntsville Hospital, Athens Limestone and Eliza Coffee Hospital.

Griffin said the five hospitals own a laundry service in Madison and share some purchasing agreements.

He said the goal of the affiliation is to “work together” to maintain not-for-profit healthcare in North Alabama.