New Documents CCF Admin Expenses Grew Rapidly on Summers' Watch-Was He Asleep?

[Brian Essi]

Administrative services charged to Lakewood Hospital began to increase dramatically at precisely the same time Summers became an LHA Trustee and then Mayor---this was at the same time CCF hatched its plans to close Lakewood that Summers went along with and is campaigning on.

Remember, Summers and BL's Pae can't explain what these expenses are because they don't have any of the actual details--they say that's "confidential and proprietary" information.

This simple analysis shows how the Admin Expenses grew and as a percentage of revenues

2014 -- $ 24,305,000-- 21%
2013 -- $ 24,438,000 -- 21%
2012 -- $ 23,043,000-- 20%
2011 -- $ 23,810,000-- 20%
2010 -- $ 20,727,000 --18%
2009 --$ 15,083,00-- 13%
2008 -- $ 14,864,000-- 13%
2007 -- $ 10,887,000 --9%
2006 -- $ 7,349,000 --6.22%
2004 -- $ 6,093,000 5.16%
2003 -- $ 5,925,000 --5%
2002 -- $ 3,459,000 --3%
2001 -- $ 2,970,000 --3%
2000 -- 0 -- 0%
1999 -- 0 -- 0%
1998 -- 0 -- 0%

Why would we trust Summers to plan our future when his track record show he has no idea what's happened and/or he is complicit?

[Bridget Conant]

I think this is critical. If the hospital was not able to attract patients, as they claim, HOW could admin expenses leap so high? The expectation would be that the cost would decline if revenue declined.

None of this adds up and it's troubling that NO ONE can give a straight answer. They point to each other!

[m buckley]

Brian, Thanks for this information.

[cameron karslake]

What a crock of BS, this confidential-proprietary claim is.

Hmmm, if the CCF/LHA don't want people to know where this money went, then it went to a place it shouldn't have. Logical, no?

Maybe they split it amongst themselves (CCF/LHA)? Logical, no?

Maybe it went on to build the Avon Hospital, as Marguerite Harkness theorizes? Makes sense to me.

This stinks to high heaven.

We are talking about over $182 million, unaccounted for!

[Brian Essi]

Keep in mind, I obtained the 1996-2007 LHA financial statements as a result of a public records request that I filed on September 22, 2015.

Kevin Butler responded on Sept 25th saying the City (Summers, Madigan & Bullock as our LHA trustees) did not have these statements and they would have to ask LHA.

So despite all of the public questioning of admin expenses, our ex-officio LHA Trustee "stewards", led by Summers never even asked for the older statements to see what the trends in admins expenses were. They don't care how the public's money has been squandered. Bullock should resign or there should be a recall started against Bullock on November 4th.

I ran the financial statements by a retired millionaire Wall Street stock analyst. He said he had never seen such an increase in overhead and it appeared that CCF was manipulating the profitability of LHA. He recommended a forensic audit.

Summers apposes an audit and criticized his challenger at a editorial interview by the local tabloid.

Any litigator, I would drool over suing all trustees for breach of fiduciary duties on tis issue alone.

This would be a feast for plaintiff's lawyers--punitive damages and attorney's fee.

I predict that if Summers is somehow re-elected there will be a host of lawsuits filed against trustees.

[Marguerite Harkness]

Schloo-oo-oo-oo-oo-p! That is the sound of Cleveland Clinic's gigundus LIPOsuction machine, sucking the lifeblood out of Lakewood Hospital.

Putting this $182 million in perspective, several different ways:

$65 million:
In 2007-08 LHA made plans for a new 4-story bed tower, replacing the oldest parts of the building. You've seen the drawings, and we have the architect's plans. That could have been built for $65 million. In just 3 years, from 2009-2011, Cleveland Clinic sucked $60 million out of Lakewood Hospital - instead of approving (and paying for) the new hospital wing.

or

$91 million:
From 2008-2012 Cleveland Clinic sucked $97 million out of Lakewood Hospital - which is more than the $91 million they CLAIM is needed in deferred maintenance and upgrades. (So, WHO deferred the maintenance . . . ?)

or

$146 million:
From 2008-2014, Cleveland Clinic sucked $146 million out of Lakewood Hospital - which is the amount they paid to build Avon. (The Avon project started in 2008.)

or

$182 million:
From 2001-2014, Cleveland Clinic sucked $182 million out of Lakewood Hospital (to which you can add about $10 million for half of 2015 so far)- which equals the $191 million they put into Fairview Hospital, according to their Decanting Plan - so they can suck all the patients, doctors, services, equipment, etc., out of Lakewood Hospital. (We have these architects' plans, too.)

It's not about health care.

It's about the money.

[Bill Call]

At this point the only people paying attention to these discoveries are the people who support Save Lakewood Hospital. Millions in administrative fees, millions in cash missing, fraud and deceit. It's all there for all to see but some people are not looking. Not only that some people refuse to look.

In a normal environment the State Attorney General and FBI would already be involved.

Poor Jimmy Demora went to jail for a free kitchen counter top but the looting of a Hospital is seen as no big deal.

Everything will be decided on election day.

[Brian Essi]

Bill

I think you are too kind to Dimora but I agree that Summers is a comparable figure here in Lakewood.

Do you think we will have to wait decades before Summers is brought down?

[marklingm]

[Bill Call]

Bill

I think you are too kind to Dimora but I agree that Summers is a comparable figure here in Lakewood.

Do you think we will have to wait decades before Summers is brought down?

If Summers is re-elected the judge throws out the lawsuit. After that the shredders will be working overtime to destroy any evidence of wrong doing.

After Dimora was convicted a lot of people came forward to say they new about the corruption for years. It's not a big leap to assume leaders other than Dimora were involved and that the corruption was a lot worse than we think. He was just the fall guy.

We also know that no one at the local level of law enforcement was interested. We also know that no one at the Plain Dealer was interested. It was only when the FBI got involved that people went public. It was only then that the Plain Dealer started reporting on the issue.

One of the reasons they reported on County corruption was because it would serve as a vehicle for "regionalization".

I don't see any law enforcement agencies or the Ohio Attorney General getting involved either. Even it Summers is defeated they will drag their feet.

Because:

The Clinic has too much money and influence.

And:

A successful Lakewood is a threat to regionalization. They want this City poor and desperate.

One side note on the Hospital financial statements. Way back in 2008, 2009 or so I was given access to those earlier statement. As I recall it took several months of phone calls and letters and emails. I was finally invited to the Council Clerks office to view the statements. They were in a card board box in a closet. It was clear to me no one was one bit interested in what they contained. A couple of years ago I threw away a lot of papers on the Hospital that I wish I had now. Oh well.

P.S. Even back then board members and at least one Council member mentioned "all that land for development". This has been percolating for years.

[Bridget Conant]

The fix is in.

One day, people will wonder why we let this happen.