Though not a 'Catholic hospital,' Crittenton will adhere to Catholic values, president says

ROCHESTER HILLS — Rochester Hills residents now have access to a Catholic-based health care network in their community, under the banner of a familiar name.

In October 2015, the Crittenton Hospital and Medical Center’s board of trustees approved a move for the hospital to join Ascension Michigan, the state’s branch of the largest Catholic health care provider in the country.

The move was made to provide Crittenton doctors and patients with greater access to resources, and it fills a geographic gap in Ascension Health’s coverage of southeast Michigan, a spokeswoman for the health care network said.

“The thinking behind the move was, Crittenton is a very high-quality hospital with an outstanding reputation,” said Gwen MacKenzie, senior vice-president for Ascension Health, Michigan Market Executive. “It’s right in between Genesys Grand Blanc and St. John Providence in southeast Michigan. We serve one out of eight patients in Michigan, and with the acquisition, we’re able to close up a geographic gap.”

Ascension Michigan already includes five hospitals in the St. John Providence Health System in Metro Detroit, Borgess Health in Kalamazoo, Genesys in Grand Blanc, St. Mary’s of Michigan in Saginaw and Standish and St. Joseph Health System in Tawas.

Terry Hamilton, president of St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital, is serving as acting president of Crittenton Hospital. Hamilton said the acquisition has been positive for Crittenton doctors, whom he said are excited about the added resources at their disposal.

“The move offers an expansion of colleagues,” Hamilton said. “If you’re the only chief nursing officer, you don’t have someone to go to. But now in a larger system, you have an entire network of chief nursing officers in the network to converse with and compare practices.”

Some of the immediate benefits included added buying power for medical resources, the ability to share expensive pieces of technology among Ascension Michigan’s other hospitals, and the health benefits Ascension Michigan offers its associates, according to Hamilton.

“It’s a good move for everybody and a fine faith move,” Hamilton said. “When you’re a standalone hospital, you buy supplies with the strength of one hospital; now we can buy as a system. We have an added ability to share services. The laboratory at St. John’s in the largest in Ascension, which we can use now because there are certain things we can’t do at Crittenton.”

The background of the acquisition started in 2014, when the Crittenton board of directors was looking for a health care system to join and submitted a request for proposal to health care systems in the area.

“We went through a vigorous request for proposal process,” MacKenzie said. “When we talked to the board, we had a discussion of what it means to be a part of Ascension; it was a good decision of what we’re about.”

Ascension’s Catholic mission did play a part of the move, MacKenzie said, but she said the move really focused on the added strategic benefit both parties would receive from the added resources and expansion of coverage area.

“We had a town hall meeting on the first day and we’re very communicative from the beginning with Crittenton staff,” MacKenzie said. “They’re very glad to be a part of Ascension; they really liked hearing about all the other components of Ascension. They were glad to be a part of something that’s mission-based.”

Though Crittenton isn’t officially a “Catholic hospital” — Hamilton explains Catholic hospitals are established with a Catholic mission in mind, whereas Crittenton is simply part of a Catholic health care system — it will adhere to Catholic moral practices when it comes to providing health care.

One difference, for example, is the lack of a chapel with the Blessed Sacrament reserved, he said.

“It’s about a philosophy of faith that starts with Catholic social teachings,” Hamilton said. “Over time, as with any department, we’ll look into what we’re offering with pastoral care. But there is no reason to believe Crittenton isn’t already meeting the spiritual needs of the population.”

Above all, Hamilton said Ascension’s acquisition of Crittenton will lead to a focus on holistic care of the patient’s mind and body, which in turn will lead to a cultural change for hospital staff.

“I’ve worked at a lot of different places, and I can tell you it’s different to work here,” Hamilton said. “The difference is the values we start with. The objective of community health is to welcome all who need help, regardless of their ability to pay. We’re here to serve the community, to make a difference.”