Once Again -- The Real Numbers

[Mark Kindt]

Folks,

Because of recent numbers being floated in another recent post by a former council member, I will repost a couple of charts:

This is my best attempt to quantify the values related to closure of Lakewood Hospital and some additional LHA assets.

Site remediation costs exceeded the $7M listed on the Chart and push the loss value to the public north of $180M.

The chart does not include the value of lost charity care of about $70M. See next Chart

Losing Lakewood Hospital - Summary Chart for Losses.jpg (404.86 KiB) Viewed 9255 times

[Mark Kindt]

During a global pandemic of historic proportions; the closure of the hospital and termination of the hospital lease had an enormous impact on lost charity care and lost facilities.

Note that Option B never occurred. There was no economic development.

The loss to the public and the region was probably about $250M.

This remains a public policy failure of epic proportions.

Economic Development Has Moral Consequences For Our Community.jpg (266.75 KiB) Viewed 9251 times

[Mark Kindt]

As we see in the Chart posted above, there was a major loss in value of lost charity care provided by Lakewood Hospital and facilities during the balance of the LHA lease period.

NO economic development ever occurred because, as of today, the economic development plans have failed or are stagnant.

You be the judge.

[Mark Kindt]

Elected officials, various board members, and other civic leaders rejected a plan from the Metro Health System that I have previously posted on at some length and that I will not expatiate upon here.

We can infer several public policy outcomes:

1. A hospital would have been available for the community during peaks of the Covid-19 pandemic; and,

2. We would not have a vast hole in the ground at the corner of Detroit and Belle with a history of failed economic development efforts.

In fact, there would have been significant renovation opportunities for Lakewood Hospital prior to the onset of the pandemic.

Lakewood Metro Presentation 9.17.14_Redacted 10.jpg (175.39 KiB) Viewed 9245 times

[Mark Kindt]

The highlighted text in the Metro chart from the Metro Health Systems planners made in the fall of 2014 accurately describe what has occurred here.

[Ed Favre]

The greatest political, government and financial blunder in the history of Lakewood.

[Brian Essi]

The former council member referred to by Mr. Kindt above is David Anderson. To my knowledge, Mr. Anderson has never publicly explained (in any cogent way) the rationale for his vote to give away the publicly owned hospital assets---a vote which directly resulted in the enormous losses to our community as set forth by Mr. Kindt.

[Richard Baker]

Mr. Kindt,

I don't doubt the accuracy of your financial disclosure, but I do believe you are jousting windmills. With no investigative reporting by any major news media outlets in the Cleveland metro area, it's a lost cause.

The city council members who voted for closing the hospital, that apparently cost the City of Lakewood taxpayers a quarter of a billion dollars, may have had vested interests, were totally gullible, or ignorant beyond belief. In any case, asking them to justify their vote is futile. The fact that voters reelected council members who voted for the hospital's destruction, indicates the city resident's lack of interest, and/or their lack of intelligence.

Until the city charter is changed, eliminating the at large council members, and until each ward has two representatives it will be business as usual.

[Mark Kindt]

Your wise comments are greatly appreciated! I am well known for tilting at windmills and arguing for achievable improvements in local government that fall upon deaf ears.