On Oct. 1, David Fikse officially took the reigns of Forum Health after Community Health Systems purchased its assets for $120 million out of bankruptcy court.
The seven-year CHS veteran is no stranger to this type of takeover, leaving a position as the CEO of a hospital in Virginia.
"I joined the hospital the day they acquired it, so I have some knowledge of acquisitions, knowledge obviously of CHS and their systems," said Fikse.
Now Fikse is performing a full check-up of the Forum Health System, trying to stabilize and streamline the three hospitals.
"We're looking at our back office systems and making changes whether it's the way we purchased or who we purchase from our billing," said Fikse. "We were looking at our registration processes."
CHS is also in talks with Forum's physician groups.
"So we're going to spend a great deal of time with our physician customers and determine what needs they have, desires they have, and support they need form the system itself," said Fikse.
Officials are hoping to see how the system can expand and offer new services to this area.
"We'll also look at staffing overtime," said Fikse. "We try to match our staffing to the volume of business we have."
In the meantime, to attract more business, CHS will start investing in $10 million worth of equipment by the end of the year.
