Chapter 7 The Case of the Kirkendall Fitness Center

The value that a division/department brings to an organization cannot always be measured by the income sheets.  There is value to public health and marketing value.  They bring paying patients into the organization.

The Kirkendall Wellness Center opened its doors in 1980 in Roanoke, Indiana.  It was a for profit facility but was owned by what was then Alexander County Community Hospital which was later merged into the Belleview Health Network.  Kirkendall hosted the cardiac rehab programs, mastectomy recovery programs, post physical therapy programs.  Cardiac rehab illustrates the value of Kirkendall to the continuum of care.  There are four phases to cardiac rehab.  Phase IV is the “get back to normal life” phase. Kirkendall was also a fitness center open to the public.  Kirkendall was much loved by the community.  It was like the bar in “Cheers”.  Everyone knew your name there.  Kirkendall was not profitable.  Being a part of Alexander County Community Hospital (ACCH) helped and hurt it.  Kirkendall had the prestige of being affiliated with ACCH and could term itself a medical fitness facility (this is important, mention in it in your paper).  However, having to adhere to the staffing structure of ACCH and being for profit was eating it alive in staffing costs and property taxes.  It could not be run and staffed like a normal gym.  The CEO of ACCH was Tom Cook.  He understood the non-monetary value of Kirkendall.

As is common these days, ACCH had to merge with Belleview to survive.  ACCH became Belleview Alexander County.  Belleview was on a mission to cut FTEs and cut anything that wasn’t profitable.  Cook was let go.  Kirkendall was shut down not long after.  Belleview got bit on that decision.  The community was in an uproar.  Belleview is based out of Chicago; executives did not understand the local culture of Roanoke.  At first, Belleview did not even believe the closure was worthy of a press release.  When the closure became public, it was front page news and all over the radio.  Belleview essentially got caught with its pants down.  Belleview Alexander County has suffered as a result.  Patients hate the place as it sacrificed a community icon for the dollar.

Let’s jump over to Marshall County.  A similar thing is about to happen there.  The Fitness Forum is in Plymouth, it is a medical fitness facility.  Roy Pennington is the CEO of Saint Joseph Medical Center who is also about to merge with Belleview.  You saw what happened with Kirkendall.  Save the Fitness Forum.  Roy will need to make the case to the CEO of Belleview, Dirk Smith, on the Forum’s non monetary value by highlighting the ways the Fitness Forum programs align with treatments offered at Saint Joseph to making it valuable to the larger organization.