The Changing Landscape of Ohio Hospital Organizations: 1972 to 2012

• In Event: 161 - Section on Organizations, Occupation and Work Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Section on Organizations, Occupation and Work Roundtables (one-hour). Table 01. Industry Emergence and Evolution

Abstract

The field of healthcare is a highly institutionalized field that, at times, experiences dynamic change. A central actor to this field is the hospital, an important social institution that serves, among its many roles, a central purpose of providing care to its constituents.

Using the perspectives of population ecology and institutional theory, this paper seeks to better understand the changes occurring in the hospital organization population in the state of Ohio between 1972 and 2012. Building upon previous hospital organization research, this analysis identifies trends particular to the state population and discusses how they relate to nationwide findings. This study employs descriptive and logistic regression methods to analyze American Hospital Association data. Organizational and market characteristics are examined to understand their effects on the outcomes of hospital closure and multihospital system membership status.

Through this analysis, the Ohio hospital population was shown to experience a decrease in hospitals, hospital beds, and admissions between 1972 and 2012, while also experiencing high increases in expenses. Hospital performance variables were shown to be associated with the risk of closure. Furthermore, multihospital system membership increased from 6.4% in 1972 to over 60% in 2012. Many of these changes are experienced differentially based on hospital structure and setting.

Author

• Cory Cronin, Case Western Reserve University