Patient-centered care

For more than 200 years, we have been providing patient care to our community, but this past year has seen tremendous evolution and positive growth for the UofL School of Medicine’s clinical enterprise.

UofL Health and acquisition of Louisville-based KentuckyOne Health assets

In January 2019, Tom Miller was named CEO of UofL Health. Tom has more than 30 years of experience in both not-for-profit and investor-owned hospitals, and a successful track record in developing multi-hospital networks. Under Tom’s direction there has been an exciting new synergy between the School of Medicine and the clinical enterprise. UofL Health is under development as the parent company for the entire clinical enterprise and will be the foundation for ongoing collaboration between the hospitals and physicians group resulting in improved quality and cost savings. 

After many months of negotiations, UofL President Neeli Bendapudi and a team of leaders within UofL and UofL Health have successfully finalized an agreement to acquire the Louisville based KentuckyOne Health assets. These include:

• Jewish Hospital, including the Outpatient Center, Rudd Heart and Lung Center, offices and parking garages 
• Frazier Rehab Institute 
• Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital
• Our Lady of Peace hospital
• Jewish Hospital Shelbyville
• Jewish Medical Centers East, Northeast, South and Southwest
• Physician groups affiliated with KentuckyOne

Tom and the UofL Health executive team will lead the integration of the KentuckyOne assets under the mission and vision of UofL Health.

UofL Hospital

Since the separation from KentuckyOne in July 2017, UofL Hospital has made incredible progress in quality of clinical care and bottom line revenue. In the first year, more than 500 nurses were hired. The hospital has seen a dramatic improvement in overall mortality, the length of stay has decreased and management exceeded the governing board’s financial expectations.

“We have completed the first comprehensive strategic business plan in many years and have a solid vision for the future of the hospital,” said Ken Marshall, UofL Hospital COO. “The foundation of our entire plan is based on becoming a Vizient 5-star hospital. With the acquisition of KentuckyOne assets, the hospital will further expand its services and programs to better serve our community.”

UofL James Graham Brown Cancer Center

UofL James Graham Brown Cancer Center continues to be the regional leader in cancer care by offering world class physicians, innovative treatments and groundbreaking clinical trials. In a recent survey, 47 percent of the community named UofL Brown Cancer Center as the provider of choice in cancer care. In the last year, philanthropy efforts have been focused on the development of our immuno-oncology program, including the development of a CAR-T program, and another partnership is bringing additional metastatic breast cancer clinical trials to Louisville. The quality and value of our care has been affirmed with recognition from the Commission on Cancer, reaccreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers and Medical Oncology, and recognition from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s Blue Distinction program as a Blue Distinction© Center for Cancer Care. In addition, BMT and Medical Oncology Infusion have merged to allow for process improvement and ultimately improve the patient experience. The facility is being remodeled to expand the pharmacy and infusion space to better serve our patients.

UofL Physicians

In March, the UofL Physicians executive team identified 18 top priorities for the organization, creating a renewed focus on areas that will have a significant impact on the ongoing success of UofL Physicians. The priorities include volume and revenue growth, various IT projects, and physician and patient experience. According to Wade Mitzel, vice president of operations, UofL Physicians exceeded their budgetary goals in FY2019. While many other physicians groups throughout the country continue to experience significant losses, UofL Physicians, under the guidance of Tom Miller and the commitment of the UofL Physicians Board, has become financially stable while focusing on patient satisfaction and quality of care.