The fastest way to preserve LHA’s assets and goodwill is for LHA Trustees to take immediate action announce the hospital is not closing and to remove current failed leadership and install new leaders. Leadership must be capable of standing up to CCF and working with them toward enforcement of the agreements by which LHA and CCF are both bound.
Build Lakewood's website says:
Each day City Council fails to act, operating costs for the current Lakewood Hospital drain over $28,000 from the Lakewood Hospital Association fund - money that would otherwise go to fund the future Lakewood Community Wellness Foundation. That translates into over $840,000 per month and over $10,000,000 per year lost to delays.
Actually, there is no proposal before City Counsel because Council President Madigan is delaying because she does not have the votes.
It is beyond debate that the $28,000 per day losses are the result of the premature announcement to close the hospital---the hospital did not lose any money in 2014 before the announced closing.
On May 18, 2015, Mr. Gable (chairman of LHA) told City Council that if the “limbo” continues there would be “responsibility, accountability and liability” for the ongoing losses. That accountability must begin at the trustee level NOW. It is irresponsible for Build Lakewood and LHA trustees to expect the political and legal process to resolve matters while they sit back and watch CCF dismantle the hospital in anticipation of a decision that may never come.
Build Lakewood AND Trustees Must Act Now--The Political and Legal Process Will Not Resolve Soon. Mr. Gable’s and Mrs. Brzytwa’s (Vice Chairman of LHA) efforts to influence Council have backfired---Council members and the public saw right through those efforts. They also see CCF plowing ahead with its plans to close the hospital despite the fact that City Council has not approved the plan and may never approve it. They see Mayor Summers and President Madigan have failed to obtain the votes necessary to close the hospital. They see a lawsuit moving forward with no resolution in the near future. The formidable and growing opposition is now advancing a charter amendment, as well as an initiative and a referendum if Council should somehow approve the plan.
The losses have been caused by Summers/Madigan/LHA/CCF announcing hospital closure in violation of the City's rights.
So Build Lakewood, if you care about the LHA fund and want to save it for all of Lakewood and not just a special interest PAC, please join me to call on LHA trustees to stop the losses.
