Highpoint Health has completed its transition to the St. Elizabeth Healthcare system becoming St. Elizabeth Dearborn. St. Elizabeth has assumed operations and has stabilized the hospital into the St. Elizabeth management systems and information technology platforms.

Transitioning Highpoint Health into becoming St. Elizabeth Dearborn comes on the heels of other collaborations between the two healthcare systems. Recently, the two systems began working together on the development of a new cancer center in Dearborn County. Additionally, when Highpoint Health, like so many rural hospitals across the nation, began facing significant financial challenges from COVID-19, St. Elizabeth provided assistance to help stabilize the financial outlook for the system.

Chris Carle has been named Chief Operating Officer of St. Elizabeth Dearborn. Carle brings a seasoned and successful tenure as a hospital operations leader who has 39 years of healthcare experience, 33 years serving in the St. Elizabeth system. Carle began his St. Elizabeth career as administrator of Grant County and then added St. Elizabeth Florence to his oversight responsibilities when St. Luke Hospitals merged with St. Elizabeth Medical Center to form St. Elizabeth Healthcare in 2008. During the course of his career, he has had responsibility for physician relations, business health, business development, and is currently the President & CEO of the St. Elizabeth Provider Network.

As part of the transition, Michael Schwebler, who served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Highpoint Health, will assume a new role at St. Elizabeth Healthcare focused initially on Dearborn County community and government relations. In addition, he will continue his successful fundraising efforts for the Dearborn cancer center as he works with the St. Elizabeth Foundation.

“We are proud and excited to be a part of the Dearborn County community, says Chris Carle, Chief Operating Officer, St. Elizabeth Dearborn. “It is our expectation that we will provide Southeast Indiana with continued access to high-quality healthcare close to home for decades to come. Our vision is to create a new, comprehensive medical campus that encompasses not only the existing St. Elizabeth outpatient facility located in Greendale, but a dedicated cancer care center, full-service emergency department, a broad range of specialists, surgery center and inpatient beds, which would improve access to healthcare in the region into the future.”

St. Elizabeth Healthcare’s intended investment into the facility and services include:

• Stabilize the hospitals Health financial operations
• Plan for future healthcare delivery needs, in consultation with physicians and the community
• Open a Cancer Care Center at the Greendale campus in 2023
• Build an expanded healthcare facility to meet the comprehensive healthcare needs of the community