Akron General’s leader says he isn’t in a hurry to find the right partner for the health system.
Akron General Health System is continuing to talk with the Cleveland Clinic and several other hospital systems about the possibility of a partnership, Dr. Thomas “Tim” Stover, health system president and chief executive, said on Thursday.
Stover declined to name the other potential partners because of non-disclosure agreements.
The health system announced in January it was renewing its search after ending exclusive talks to be acquired by a joint venture between the Cleveland Clinic and national for-profit hospital chain Community Health Systems (CHS).
Although Akron General still seeks to ultimately affiliate with a bigger system for its long-term health, “We’re literally in a position right now where we don’t have to do anything,” Stover said.
“We can take our time to do the right thing,” he said. “We’re still strong. We’re a huge community asset. We’re not going anywhere.”
The health system had a positive total bottom line in 2013 and a negative operating margin that showed improvement from 2012, Stover said. A financial measure called day’s cash on hand, which reflects an institution’s ability to pay its bills, also improved from 2012 to 2013.
Akron General’s revenues exceeded expenses by almost $9.2 million in 2013 when investment income and other non-operating gains were included, according to the health system. The previous year, the health system had a bottom-line loss of $4.8 million.
Akron General’s operating loss last year was $6.9 million, an improvement from a loss of $12.7 million in 2012.
“We continue to be investment grade as far as our bonds,” he said.
Stover said the search for a partner is about more than getting an infusion of cash.
“If it were a cash grab, we would have done it months ago,” he said.
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/CherylPowellABJ.