Careers at Sisters of Mercy Health System
MISSION
Sisters of Mercy Health System (“Mercy”) is a not-for-profit Catholic health organisation that seeks to provide high quality health care services to consumers across the Midwestern US.
FOUNDING STORY
Mercy’s operations have their roots in the teachings of Catherine McAuley, an Irish nun who founded The Sisters of Mercy in 1831.
The organisation traces its American roots back to New York in 1846. Mercy moved to St Louis in 1856, where it founded the Religious Sisters of Mercy of the St Louis Province.
The organisation sponsored a number of hospitals and medical facilities, which, while not being formally linked, began sharing management and consulting staff resources during the 1960s.
In 1971, Mercy opened its own 25-bed infirmary for women and children.
The Sisters of Mercy Health System (Mercy) was established in 1986. In 2011, the organisation rebranded itself under the name Mercy, and began many of its hospitals and clinics under the Mercy brand, notably renaming St John's Mercy Medical Centre in St Louis to Mercy Hospital St. Louis.
Mercy has expanded significantly since its establishment across a seven-state area comprising: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
Mercy is the sixth largest Catholic health care system in the US, operating a network of 30 acute care hospitals, 11 specialty hospitals, and more than 900 physician practices and outpatient facilities.
Business model of Sisters of Mercy Health System
Customer Segments
Mercy provides health and medical services to the general consumer population.
The organisation, through its various facilities, treats a wide range of conditions, including patients across the following categories:
- Primary Care, including patients suffering from acute injuries and illnesses through its hospitals and clinics;
- Specialty Care, including patients requiring palliative care, or specialist treatment for conditions such as diabetes and cancer through the company’s specialist medical facilities;
- Rehabilitation, including patients that require outpatient care and rehabilitation treatments at outpatient centres and specialist clinics; and
- Other, including patients suffering from other illnesses, such as chronic diseases.
Mercy operates in the US, serving patients across its network of hospitals and clinics across Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Value Propositions
Mercy Provides value to its customers in the following ways:
- Reputation and History – Mercy has a long history of providing health care services that dates back to the nineteenth century, and a positive reputation within the medical sector for providing a high standard of care;
- High Quality Services – Mercy provides seeks to set itself apart from its competitors by providing excellent health care services utilising high quality and up-to-date equipment and tools and employing highly trained and experienced medical professionals;
- Innovation and Technology – Mercy dedicates a portion of its resources to research and development, seeking to ensure that it is able to provide its patients with the most cutting edge care possible using the most up-to-date technologies;
- Broad Range of Treatments – Mercy offers a wide range of treatments and services, ensuring that it can help sufferers of numerous conditions and illnesses, including acute care, chronic care, rehabilitation services, and specialist care; and
- Wide Network of Facilities – Mercy operates a wide network of medical facilities across the Midwestern US, including 30 acute care hospitals, 11 specialty hospitals, and more than 900 physician practices and outpatient facilities.
Channels
Mercy serves patients directly through its network of medical facilities.
As noted above, this includes 30 acute care hospitals, 11 specialty care hospitals, and more than 900 physician practices and outpatient facilities.
The company’s services are provided via its workforce of medical professionals, including physicians, nurses, and medical specialists.
Customer Relationships
Mercy seeks to establish longstanding relationships with patients by providing high-quality, reliable, and efficient services across its network of facilities.
The company instils trust through its workforce of qualified and experienced medical professionals and clinical staff, who work closely with patients, providing treatment and advice, handling questions, and providing in-person assistance.
Mercy operates a website at www.mercy.net through which it provides information to patients on a self-service basis.
This information includes a listing of the company’s various facilities, information on the treatments and services that the company provides, and information on its history and leadership.
Mercy also operates patient feedback service via its website, through which patients are able to make complaints or offer their opinion on the level of care they received at Mercy facilities.
The company is additionally able to communicate directly with patients through its various social media accounts, including with LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Key Activities
Mercy operates as a charitable institution.
The organisation is engaged in the provision of healthcare services, through its operation of hospitals, physician practices, outpatient clinics, health plans, and related health and human services. The company operates an extensive network of facilities across the Midwestern US, including in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.
The institution’s facilities include acute care hospitals, heart hospitals, outpatient care facilities, nursing and long-term residential care facilities, clinics, a managed care organisation, and other health-related services.
Mercy is also engaged in research and development activities through Mercy Research as well as clinical studies and product development operations.
Key Partners
Mercy works closely with a network of partner companies and organisations that help to ensure that the company is able to provide effective and efficient medical services.
These partners can be organised broadly into the following categories:
- Supplier and Vendor Partners – comprising suppliers of medical equipment, drugs, and tools that support the company’s core medical and healthcare operations, as well as other third-party providers of external services that support the company’s corporate activities amore broadly;
- Research and Innovation Partners – comprising various medical institutions and academic research organisations with which the organisations collaborates on research and development projects and the implementation and analysis of clinical trials;
- Community and Social Partners – comprising a range of charitable organisations and non-profit entities, with which the company collaborates on social and community projects, primarily in the US; and
- Strategic and Alliance Partners – comprising a range of other companies and organisations with which the company works on various other projects, including development, marketing and branding projects.
Mercy has a number of partnerships already in place. The company’s research and innovation partners include the Jordan Valley Innovation Centre at Missouri State University, The eFactory, Sprint Accelerator, Cancer Research for the Ozarks, Quintiles, and Make People Better LLC.
Key Resources
Mercy’s business model depends on its ability to provide high quality, cutting edge medical treatments and care to patients through its network of clinics and medical facilities.
As such, its key resources are its inventory of medical equipment and treatments, its suppliers and supply chain, its network of clinics and hospitals, its workforce of physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals, its IT and communications infrastructure, and its partnerships.
As noted above, Mercy operates more than 40 hospitals and over 900 physician practices and outpatient facilities across the Midwestern US that are its most key assets.
Cost Structure
Mercy incurs costs in relation to the acquisition of medical supplies and equipment, the procurement of third party services, the operation of its numerous medical facilities – including occupancy and utility costs, the payment of salaries and benefits to its workforce of medical professionals, the maintenance and development of its IT and communications infrastructure, and the management of its partnerships.
In its 2017 annual report, Mercy states that salary and benefits accounted for 57% of its total operating expenses for the year, while the procurement of supplies and other medical expenses accounted for around 35%.
Revenue Streams
Mercy generates revenue through the operation of medical facilities and the provision of health care services.
The company derives its revenue primarily through the collection of fees for medical services from patients, from insurance companies, and from government medical programs.
The company also derives a small portion of its revenue in the form of capitation revenues collected from risk-based contracts.
In 2017, Mercy recorded annual operating revenue in the amount of USD 5.5 billion. Around 90% of this revenue was derived from patient services.