Holy Family Hospital and Gorsich General Hospital are the only two acute care hospitals in a county of 80,000 people, and they also serve as regional referral hospitals for a much larger secondary service area that includes another 90,000 people and 14 small hospitals. The majority of services are duplicated in the two hospitals, which together account for nearly 97 percent of the inpatient volume of the county. Gorsich has generally seen a slowly declining population, and the long-term economy is gloomy, although they have well-educated workforce. In addition, 15 percent of the population is without health insurance, which is a major barrier to needed preventive and general health care services, so the local health issues including heart disease and cancer are significant compared to other regions.
Both hospitals have a long history in the region, while Holy Family Hospital is currently part of I Healthcare Services, a loosely affiliated system that includes 14 Catholic hospitals throughout the region, and Gorsich General is an independent, not-for-profit institution. In both hospitals, a dramatic decrease in the inpatient utilization is shown in recent years, and this situation will deteriorate when managed care pressures arrive. While inpatient hospital volumes have been decreasing, hospital costs have been increasing substantially. Both hospitals are currently financially healthy and profitable, but hospitals are likely to face significant financial losses within the next five years due to the dramatic change from both internal and external environment.
On the other hand, the overcapacity also drivers behind the hospitals exploring collaborative activities after decades of competition. Boards of directors of the only two hospitals in Gorsich, Wyoming to study the best possible ways in which the hospitals might work together to meet the health care needs of