Perpetual Mercy Hospital
Perpetual Mercy is a successful, nonprofit hospital located in the southern periphery of a major western city. It is extremely financially stable, debt free and holds the highest occupancy rate in amongst all hospitals located in its metro location. Perpetual Mercy has become extremely dependent on older, inner city occupants that are covered by Medicaid. More business is becoming minor, short stayed visits which have begun to jeopardize the financial stability of the hospital. Other major threats that Perpetual Mercy faces are the demographic shifts in the community, in which northern suburban areas are becoming more heavily occupied, placing potential business farther away from the hospital. Downtown Healthcare Clinic

In 1998 Perpetual Mercy Hospital’s Board of Trustee’s did a study to find out if it would be worthwhile to open a clinic up north in a new construction area downtown. The clinic would offer specific services like: Preventive health care

Minor emergency care
Referral for acute and chronic health care conditions
Specialized employer services
Primary health care services
Basic x-ray and lab test
The clinic would not only service the local community but also serve as a preferred provider organization (PPO), holding a contractual arrangement with employment groups located near the new clinics area. These services will allow the hospital to expand their referral base, increase referrals of privately insured patients and establish a liaison with the business community by addressing employees’ specific health care needs. A study of the service radius showed that the clinics services would cover a 5 block radius and approximately 11,663 office workers, with a projected population growth of 6% per year because of new area construction. After interviewing 400 office workers in the area, results showed that 50% of office