MONROE - The organization that oversees Monroe Clinic will transfer sponsorship of the clinic and hospital to a new organization early next year.
The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, the Catholic organization that has sponsored Monroe Clinic since 1939, signed a letter of intent to transfer its sponsorship of Monroe Clinic and Agnesian HealthCare in Fond du Lac to St. Louis-based Catholic organization SSM Health.
Jean Steffes, general superior of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, said the changing landscape of health care in Wisconsin, coupled with the Congregation's changing demographics, required a larger, more diverse organization to operate Monroe Clinic.
Steffes said CSA has few sisters still working in the Monroe area and doesn't have the numbers required to continue to manage a facility the size of Monroe Clinic. Monroe Clinic currently employs 1,100 people across 12 locations, said Monroe Clinic president and CEO Mike Sanders.
SSM Health, meanwhile, owns 20 hospitals across Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri and Oklahoma, and employs 33,000 people, said Laura Kaiser, SSM Health president and CEO.
Kaiser said patients at Monroe Clinic can still expect the same level of care as the clinic has provided in the past. She added that SSM has no plans for adding or cutting services at the clinic as of yet.
"Patients will still get the same great care they've always had at the Clinic," Kaiser said. "But we'll still do what we can to improve it."
Employees were notified of the new management Wednesday morning. Kaiser said that there are currently no staffing changes planned and that Sanders will remain CEO of Monroe Clinic.
Sanders also said the change in sponsorship will not interfere with the ongoing renovation and expansion project at Monroe Clinic, currently scheduled to be completed in 2019.
Steffes said the transfer of sponsorship is still in the early stages. With the letter of intent drafted, the Congregation and SSM will undergo a due diligence process and hopefully reach an agreement by September. If all goes well, the transfer of sponsorship will be complete by January of 2018.
Kaiser said "sponsorship" is effectively equivalent to "ownership" in the terminology of Catholic organizations. However, an SSM representative said no financial details of the transfer will be made public at this time.
"We're honored and humbled to be chosen to continue the Congregation's mission," Kaiser said.
Sanders said he had "somewhat mixed feelings" toward the change, citing the nearly 80-year relationship between Monroe Clinic and the Congregation.
"But we've worked with other SSM facilities before and we're definitely looking forward to our new partnership."
The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, the Catholic organization that has sponsored Monroe Clinic since 1939, signed a letter of intent to transfer its sponsorship of Monroe Clinic and Agnesian HealthCare in Fond du Lac to St. Louis-based Catholic organization SSM Health.
Jean Steffes, general superior of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, said the changing landscape of health care in Wisconsin, coupled with the Congregation's changing demographics, required a larger, more diverse organization to operate Monroe Clinic.
Steffes said CSA has few sisters still working in the Monroe area and doesn't have the numbers required to continue to manage a facility the size of Monroe Clinic. Monroe Clinic currently employs 1,100 people across 12 locations, said Monroe Clinic president and CEO Mike Sanders.
SSM Health, meanwhile, owns 20 hospitals across Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri and Oklahoma, and employs 33,000 people, said Laura Kaiser, SSM Health president and CEO.
Kaiser said patients at Monroe Clinic can still expect the same level of care as the clinic has provided in the past. She added that SSM has no plans for adding or cutting services at the clinic as of yet.
"Patients will still get the same great care they've always had at the Clinic," Kaiser said. "But we'll still do what we can to improve it."
Employees were notified of the new management Wednesday morning. Kaiser said that there are currently no staffing changes planned and that Sanders will remain CEO of Monroe Clinic.
Sanders also said the change in sponsorship will not interfere with the ongoing renovation and expansion project at Monroe Clinic, currently scheduled to be completed in 2019.
Steffes said the transfer of sponsorship is still in the early stages. With the letter of intent drafted, the Congregation and SSM will undergo a due diligence process and hopefully reach an agreement by September. If all goes well, the transfer of sponsorship will be complete by January of 2018.
Kaiser said "sponsorship" is effectively equivalent to "ownership" in the terminology of Catholic organizations. However, an SSM representative said no financial details of the transfer will be made public at this time.
"We're honored and humbled to be chosen to continue the Congregation's mission," Kaiser said.
Sanders said he had "somewhat mixed feelings" toward the change, citing the nearly 80-year relationship between Monroe Clinic and the Congregation.
"But we've worked with other SSM facilities before and we're definitely looking forward to our new partnership."