The War Over .0016 of Lakewood That Is Killing Us

[Brian Essi]

Lakewood has a total of 5.53 square miles of land.

The Summers Plan would free up just 5.7 acres of land for development.

There are 640 acres in a square mile.

This means the proposed development is just .0016 of Lakewood's total land--that's less that 2 tenths of one percent of Lakewood.

Summers is manipulating one group focused on the .0016 morsel of land--he dangles the carrot of some "Big Dream" about how the morsel will somehow "transform" Lakewood into something that will be meaningless to everyone but those in Summers' "inner circle."

Please remember, Summers' PAC---Build Lakewood, calls the morsel "a significant parcel"--it is not significant.

It has been proven that Summers' Plan and what can be done with the morsel of land is much more risky and can never match what can be done with retaining hospital assets to save lives. The highest and best use for the land is its current use, but Summers doesn't care--he wants his war.

So Summers started a war over our land our hospital money by dividing our City.

Wrongful death has already occurred due to cuts at the hospital caused by Summers and hospital leadership moving forward with the closure of the hospital against the law and against the will of the people.

It is inevitable that more of us will died in ambulances in that extra 23 minutes it takes to get to a real hospital or we will die in CCF's new "specialty referral center" waiting to be transferred to a real hospital if Summers wins his war.

By all accounts, Summers is a very stubborn man.

He has refused to listen to the people.

How many more must die for a morsel of land and one man's selfishness and stubbornness?

[cameron karslake]

I guess the next question is:

Will there be a morgue included in the Wellness Center?

I don't think there is a way to keep track of medical outcomes due to privacy issues but it certainly help to illustrate the folly of Summers' idea of a "new healthcare model".

[Brian Essi]

To each and every Teem Summers/Build Lakewood supporter, I ask:

When it comes to pass that the "Big Dream" is a failure, we discover from Court Rulings and Jury Awards in the ongoing and future lawsuit(s) that the CCF and LHA Trustees (including Summers, Madigan and Bullock) are liable for breach of duties and wrongful deaths, and one of your relatives dies as a result of not having a hospital nearby, how will you explain your vote?

I can pretty much guaranty that everyone who has a conscience and votes for this deal going forward (if they don't die along the way) will come to realize just how big of a mistake that they have made.

"We all learn late in life." W. Wilson Caldwell

[Marguerite Harkness]

LAKEWOOD HOSPITAL IS AN IRREPLACEABLE ASSET.

Tearing down Lakewood Hospital is an UNFIXABLE MISTAKE.

If that happens (which I doubt), I will boldly tell Lakewood Chamber of Commerce: I TOLD YOU SO . . .

[Bridget Conant]

I am far more tolerant of politicians making mistakes when those mistakes are done in good faith and are amenable to adjustments along the way.

In this case, closing the hospital and tearing it down is irrevocable. There will never be another facility like that here and I think it really cuts off our options.

Most importantly, we are again aligning ourselves with the Cleveland Clinic, who we already see is not trustworthy, and making it impossible for other providers to enter the market. Why are we limiting ourselves like that? What other city do you know that gives one Healthcare system all that power? Why would we agree to that?

[Lori Allen _]

I agree with all of you that Summers appears to be the gang leader with the hospital issue. It seems though that some on the deck continue to place the entire blame on Summers. Everyone on council is to blame also. Each and everyone of them sat by and let it happen. At anytime,anyone of them could have reported these doings to the proper authorities/agencies, but choose not to. Is this aiding and abetting? An accomplice to the crime? Excusing council from their duties to serve and protect their citizens and treating them like royalty does not guarantee a vote from any of them to save the hospital. It is time for everyone in this city to start showing up to council meetings and demanding answers.

There are a lot of Save Lakewood Hospital signs around town. Where is the public outcry for justice and accountability?

We had such a low voter turn out for the primary , and because of that, John Litten will be running for Ward 3 council, whom I believe is one of the crooks involved in this hospital scam. Summers, Council, LHA, LHF, and CCF are ALL to blame for this. I encourage all citizens of Lakewood to DO something to help those that are out there every day fighting to keep your hospital. Together we stand, divided we fall!!

[Amy Martin]

please vote for Mark Schneider in Ward 3 if you want the Hospital to stay open

[Brian Essi]

Everyone on council is to blame also. Each and everyone of them sat by and let it happen. At anytime,anyone of them could have reported these doings to the proper authorities/agencies, but choose not to. Is this aiding and abetting? An accomplice to the crime? Excusing council from their duties to serve and protect their citizens and treating them like royalty does not guarantee a vote from any of them to save the hospital. It is time for everyone in this city to start showing up to council meetings and demanding answers.

Lori,

I disagree with you when you say "everyone" on Council is to blame. Summers, Madigan and Bullock as LHA Trustees are the insiders on LHA and have withheld, concealed and misrepresented many things in relation to the other Councilmembers.

For example, just this Tuesday night, I spoke at Council about lies told by hospital leadership regarding the termination of the cardio intervention program and resulting losses at the hospital. Bullock's response was to grandstand to defend himself because he had repeated those lies to the rest of Council. He went on and on whining about the public discourse and me using a politically explosive term "lie". He also made up a bunch of stuff that just is not true about what happened.

The rest of Council is not supposed to be the "FBI" as to LHA and the hospital.
I believe Cindy Marx, David Anderson and Sam O'Leary are doing their best in the face of corrupted and incompetent colleagues like Bullock and Madigan who are stonewalling and obfuscating matters for their own political and personal ends.

So I don't think its fair to paint "everyone" on Council with the same brush.

[Lori Allen _]

Brian,

I am sorry, but I must disagree with you. For example, I don't ever recall any council member objecting to the motion to enter executive session. Even if three objections wouldn't change anything, they would at least be on the record as saying" no."

You are correct that council is not the FBI for LHA & CCF. However, it is council's responsibility to take care of their citizens, their city, and to follow the Sunshine Laws. As much as I hate to use Jim's stolen car tale again, I feel it still applies here. If you're caught in a stolen car with your friend, you are still guilty by association, even if you stayed silent. I just don't feel that being nice to council is going to get them to save the hospital. My prediction is that this deal will be forced through before the election (just like the $900,000 agreement with EverStream). Me? I would rather have my tax dollars going to fix roads & sewers and tree-trimming as opposed to a new toy for City Hall. Could there be another deal going on with Everstream too?

Although some posts are important, I feel that re-posting the same information about the hospital over and over again is not going to help the cause. People need to be visible in front of City Hall and the hospital every day with signs, opposing the deal. They wouldn't even have to say a word, they could just walk.

FWIW.