LAKEWOOD HOSPITAL - The Discussion

[Jim O'Bryan]

"Any such hospital shall be operated, controlled and managed by a Board of Trustees consisting of eighteen members...."

So where does the Clinic fit in? If it's just following orders who issues the orders?

Bill

This is one of the issues, but it is very understandable. Like the Lawsuit at Clifton Beach.

The City of Lakewood which owns the property, leases it to the Lakewood Hospital Association. A group founded by our fore fathers to make sure the City of Lakewood always
would have the cutting edge healthcare it needs. AND, make Lakewood marketable to families that would never have to worry about close healthcare.

The City of Lakewood ran the hospital as a community hospital until the 80s, where they
started to court help from outside. Mayor Cain crafted the 1996 agreement that was not
actually signed until 1997. In that it spelled out that we would become a partner with the
Cleveland Clinic. It was this 30 year contract that was reopened at least 4 times and
possibly 5 times for renegotiation, the latest I see being 2010.

When Mayor Cain made the agreement with the Clinic it would have been through the
Lakewood Hospital Association. Not the Mayor of Lakewood, who also just happens to
be the head of the Lakewood Hospital Association, as set forward by the City Charter.

So the Clinic negotiates with the Association, which deals with the city. The Association
is there as a middle man, and I am sure there were/are legal reasons for it. However it
has been a major point of this city since 1911 I think.

Now as I read the contracts, Lakewood Hospital Association has guaranteed the Cleveland
Clinic will not lose money at Lakewood Hospital. That if they do, Lakewood Hospital
Association will cover it, and they are backed up by the City of Lakewood. Which begs the
question, why would anyone walk away from a $12 million dollar black spot in their books,
when loses should they ever come are paid for you?

The side organization is the Lakewood Hospital Foundation to raise money for Lakewood
Hospital and "Lakewood Health" something they have been very successful at. Most of the
best things you are seeing at Lakewood Hospital were underwritten by the Foundation,
not the Cleveland Clinic. Though they have helped.

So it begs the question, what screwed it all up?

.

[Bill Call]

So it begs the question, what screwed it all up?

Here is a report published in 2006:

http://portals.clevelandclinic.org/Port ... Report.pdf

The Hospital had over 1,300 employees and nearly 600 doctors with privileges. The report shows a vibrant organization with a bright future. Fast forward to 2014 and we have 400 employees and 100 doctors with privileges.

Who screwed it up seems and excellent question.

The City of Lakewood owns the Lakewood Professional building which means the City of Lakewood is the one telling its tenants that they must all be out by June.

What's going on?

Why won't someone at City Hall tell the residents of Lakewood why their City is being turned into a health care desert?

[Peter Grossetti]

[quote="Bill Call
The City of Lakewood owns the Lakewood Professional building which means the City of Lakewood is the one telling its tenants that they must all be out by June.

What's going on?
[/quote]

Perhaps that (Lakewood Professional Building) is where the new hotel is going?

[Jim O'Bryan]

Who screwed it up seems and excellent question.

The $30 million dollar question!

The City will not answer because the announcement put them off of their "spin cycle" they
were hoping to announce it after the Mayor's Committee on Active Lifestyle said, "We need
a recreation center, and the city needs to run recreation."

Oh well, we deserve straight talk, not news releases about...

"Looking for money to tear down another landmark..."

City Hall has lost its moral compass.

So sad.

.

[Rhonda loje]

From Jim O'Bryan:

"Looking for money to tear down another landmark..."

Question: Does one have anything to do with the other?

[Jim O'Bryan]

From Jim O'Bryan:

"Looking for money to tear down another landmark..."

Question: Does one have anything to do with the other?

Only in the world of magic and spin.

Instead of being honest with Lakewoodites, City Hall's PR machine, something we take trash
to the curb to help pay for, was releasing non-news piece after non-news piece in an effort
to move their failures on the hospital out of eyesight.

Their idea is, if we distract and move it off the front page, who will know?

It would have been nice to see the city spend $40,000 a year on getting the truth out, but
instead they went with spin.

They are lost.

.

[Rhonda loje]

What happened to this type of Community Engagement?

http://lakewoodalive.blogspot.com/2007/ ... oning.html

[Jim O'Bryan]

What happened to this type of Community Engagement?

http://lakewoodalive.blogspot.com/2007/ ... oning.html

Rhonda

Lakewood Alive just hired a new web designer after the last one failed, and frustrated them
to death. This page could have been moved.

.

[Rhonda loje]

This is the Community Engagement I referred to:

Community Engagement News

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Beck Center Visioning

In an effort to plan for the next 75 years, the Beck Center has been working with a design team on some development ideas - "what could be" for this vital community resource.

LakewoodAlive members are invited to attend the Beck Center Annual Meeting on Monday, October 29, 7:30pm, Mackey Main Stage (reception at 7pm) to learn about the "State of the Beck" and a vision for its future.

The Beck Center is one of the largest employers in Lakewood, and a recent study found the organization has an economic impact of $10 million every year on Northeast Ohio. The Beck's arts education curriculum is one of the broadest and deepest in Northeast Ohio, including classes in dance, music, theater, visual arts, and music and art therapy. The current professional theater season boasts one of the most ambitious schedules in Greater Cleveland with three Cleveland premieres and one World Premiere.

Beck Center Website

LakewoodAlive members are encouraged to learn more about this valuable community asset.

[Rhonda loje]

I may have missed something, but I don't see any discussion on the future of Lakewood Hospital. Did I miss something? I could have. Let me know.

http://www.onelakewood.com/Development/ ... ision.aspx

[Jim O'Bryan]

Rhonda

What a period of time, and I really do not take away from the Hospital Conversation.

I am willing to talk about history, and various other things, but want to keep this to the
hospital, and give it the space its importance demands.

However, you did bring up something oddly ironic. The Lakewood Observer broke the
"Beck Leaving story" posted it and worked with Michael Gill at the FreeTimes. The Deck
post was marginalize by the same people marginalizing the Clinic post.

As we published every other week, and had just published, I sent it to Michael Gill
currently editor and publisher of CAN Journal. He ran through some of his channels and of
course he wrote a great piece, that was immediately countered with a spin piece, in the PD.
One could credit Michael Gill with saving the Beck, but Cindy Einhouse and crew get that
honor, as they have really grasped the history of "Lakewood Little Theater."

Only by speaking up.

This project was not based on "reporting" it is based on people speaking up.

.

[Betsy Voinovich]

I guess we should be looking at who benefits from putting in a Rec Center.

In Jim's article in this week's Observer (http://www.lakewoodobserver.com/read/20 ... -who-knows) he says it is "above his pay grade" to determine whether the city would benefit more from having a hospital than a Rec Center, but I guess as a mom I am in the correct pay grade and I would rather have a hospital. We've been pretty happy with the current Rec Department's activities and offerings along with the Y and the Beck Center, depending on the activity.

As Rob Masek's cartoon in this week's Observer so ably points out, What if my kid breaks her arm? She has. She was in a lot of pain. We went to Lakewood hospital. It was 4 minutes away. They fixed her right up. How much are those extra minutes spent with your kid in pain worth? What if it was something worse?

My other daughter got quick-dry cement in her eyes when she was a toddler. When I called the hospital, the nurse asked if I had bathed my daughters eyes with water. I said yes. She said, "Did you stop bathing her eyes to talk to me?" I said yes. She said to bring her in, they would be waiting, and if I had someone else to drive, while I continued to bathe my daughter's eyes in the car, I'd make it quicker than an ambulance. A neighbor drove. They were waiting for us at Lakewood Hospital. They saved my daughter's eyes.

How many other parents in Lakewood have had situations like ours?

Hmm. I think we need a hospital. Time matters.

We are very lucky that past administrations worked hard to keep this hospital. It is one of the things that makes Lakewood so attractive to families.

Lakewood Hospital has this longterm contract with Cleveland Clinic, why on Earth would we mess around with it?

No matter how you spin it, the residents of Lakewood are not benefiting from losing a hospital.

So again, who benefits from putting in a Rec Center?

If the Mayor is supporting this along with the Planning Director, and they have gone so far as proposing that the School Board help them raise money for it, it must be them, right? If the Council, especially those members who are also members of the hospital board (as is Mayor Summers) are staying silent, perhaps it is them (or her) also, or maybe their friends. How are they benefiting?


Betsy Voinovich

[Scott Meeson]

So again, who benefits from putting in a Rec Center?

If the Mayor is supporting this along with the Planning Director, and they have gone so far as proposing that the School Board help them raise money for it, it must be them, right? If the Council, especially those members who are also members of the hospital board (as is Mayor Summers) are staying silent, perhaps it is them (or her) also, or maybe their friends. How are they benefiting?

Betsy Voinovich

Was that alleged proposal made in a public session or executive session with the school board?

Scott

[Jim O'Bryan]

So again, who benefits from putting in a Rec Center?

If the Mayor is supporting this along with the Planning Director, and they have gone so far as proposing that the School Board help them raise money for it, it must be them, right? If the Council, especially those members who are also members of the hospital board (as is Mayor Summers) are staying silent, perhaps it is them (or her) also, or maybe their friends. How are they benefiting?

Betsy Voinovich

Was that alleged proposal made in a public session or executive session with the school board?

Scott

Scott

One might ask, as this is a serious topic, why would it matter if the proposal was made
in open or executive session? If it underlines, that City Hall is covering up one of the most
important screw ups of the past couple decades?

However, it was made in an open board session, at Horace Mann.

I have three people, all three said exactly the same thing, the only doubter would be a
number 3, who couldn't remember as they had just come out of an executive session. As
that person, the 3rd to remember the conversation in details said, "We were just coming
out..." I took that to mean four people all vividly remember the meeting and what was proposed.

Scott, I have zero reason to lie about this. The LO has a pretty good track record for
uncovering these things, and we are all about the discussion, not the gotcha.

I could have posted Clinic gone, but that is not even the point. The point is this city has
studied everything from hens to hotels in medical buildings. Where is the plan for this? It
would seem that the mayor and City Council spent about $50,000 on plans since the
mayor knew, and none on this? It would seem that the Mayor was pushing a Rec Center
before his Rec Committee with no agenda.

Scott, you know me, what you say is not my style, don't believe the hype.

.

[Scott Meeson]

Scott

One might ask, as this is a serious topic, why would it matter if the proposal was made
in open or executive session? If it underlines, that City Hall is covering up one of the most
important screw ups of the past couple decades?

However, it was made in an open board session, at Horace Mann.

.

Jim,

If such a proposal took place in open session, I would think such a proposal would have been included in the public record (Minutes).

Board Members, any specific guidance as to where?
http://www.lakewoodcityschools.org/DistrictBoardEd.aspx?archived=true

Scott Meeson