Creamer said because of its convenient location in Oxford, the contract with McCullough-Hyde was granted through a direct negotiation and no bidding process was used. That contract ends June 30.
Creamer said it was the need for greater technology improvements and staffing levels that led the university to enter into negotiations with TriHealth, a network of four hospitals and over 100 health provider locations in Greater Cincinnati including Bethesda Butler Hospital in Hamilton.
The university is seeking a multi-year contract with TriHealth. Final terms of the contract are expected to be complete by late June.
Creamer said over the past year the university was unable to migrate its system with the technology at McCullough-Hyde, which doesn’t have access to the electronic medical records system Epic used by all major health systems in the region.
“They need to make a technology change themselves,” Creamer said of McCullough-Hyde. “(With TriHealth) we can immediately address the issue and don’t have to delay that improvement.”
Bryan Hehemann, president and chief executive officer at McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital, said the hospital is “disappointed” that Miami has “taken a different direction.”
“We worked with Miami University for a little while and thought we had made improvements and increased visits and customer satisfaction,” Hehemann said.
Creamer said Miami has had a relationship with McCullough-Hyde since the hospital has existed. Creamer said employee wellness services will continue to be provided by McCullough-Hyde.
Creamer said the McCullough-Hyde contract was only for the university’s first “transition year” to a hybrid-operation model for health services.
Over the past two years, Miami has worked with McCullough-Hyde in two major transitions of its health services.
An employee clinic was created in January 2013 through a contract with McCullough-Hyde to operate the employee clinic and provide staffing in the same building as Student Health Service, Creamer said.
Then in July 2013, Miami contracted again with McCullough-Hyde to manage its Student Health Service and provide some staffing there.
The university has paid McCullough-Hyde approximately $626,500 for services in recent years, said Dawn Fahner, director of benefit services at Miami.
Hehemann said staff at the Oxford hospital will work with TriHealth to ensure a smooth transition.
“In selecting TriHealth, they bring more experience in management of clinics like this,” Creamer said. “A larger organization will better be able to be responsive to our changing needs. We need technology improvements in scheduling and billing.”
Before entering negotiations with TriHealth, Miami received proposals from a total of 12 organizations through a competitive bidding process that began in February. Other proposals were submitted by McCullough-Hyde, Mercy Health, Premier Health, UC Health, Concentra, Christ Hospital and Cerner, among others.
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