The Observation Deck

When the Cleveland Clinic completes its new hospital in Avon I expect the Clinic to accelerate its effective decommissioning of Lakewood Hospital. Even before the new hospitals completion the Clinic is moving doctors from Lakewood to Avon and moving emergency room and operating services to Fairview and its new Avon facility.

The City should not just standby and allow the Clinic to turn Lakewood into a health care desert. Health care jobs are the only bright spot in this region and Lakewood is losing them. A city like Lakewood needs and deserves a full range of medical services.

Perhaps its time to partner with Metro Health:

http://www.cleveland.com/brecksville/in ... -surg.html

When I'm appointed to council I intend to concentrate on keeping the medical jobs Lakewood now has and bringing back the jobs that the Clinic has moved out of town.

Are there any lawyers out there? What is restraint of trade? What is one third of $1 billion dollars? What would you expect to find during the discovery process?

If you search the provider directory for your insurance company as I did you would find about 250 doctors with a presence in Lakewood. However, if you dig a little deeper you find that:

Many doctors listed don't have a Lakewood office or any presence in Lakewood at all. The phone numbers given have been disconnected or you are directed to the new Avon office.

Many of the doctors listed are only available in Lakewood one day per week. I was told by one office that the next available date in Lakewood was in February but that I could be seen immediately if I drove to Lorain County. Does that doctor really have a Lakewood office?

Suppose there was a car dealership in Lakewood and a car dealership in Avon owned by the same company. If the sales people in Lakewood only sold cars one day per week and the sales staff was told to direct customers to the Avon store what would that tell you about the ultimate goal of the owner?

What can Lakewood do to keep the medical jobs we have? What can Lakewood do to get back the jobs the Clinic has moved out of town?

Will the pending announcement about changes at Lakewood Hospital mean more choices or more propaganda?

What is restraint of trade?

What is one third of $1 billion?

What's an ambitious lawyer going to do?

What would the discovery process reveal?

When I'm appointed to Council I intend to ask questions and demand answers.

these mergers and acquisitions are just a fad

later, divergers and disvestment will be a fad

ryan costa wrote:these mergers and acquisitions are just a fad

later, divergers and disvestment will be a fad

General Motors used its economic and political power to buy competing business to capture more market share. When it couldn't buy out the competition it used its political influence to undermine the competition. The Clinic is the General Motors of the health care industry. Eventually the Clinic will have the same affect on Cleveland that GM had on Detroit.

The Cleveland area again leads the nation in job losses:

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index ... ore_j.html

The biggest losses occurred in the leisure and hospitality industry. I thought the taxpayer subsidies for the Rock Hall of Fame, Play House Square and the new convention center were going to invigorate the regions hospitality industry. If the biggest job losses are in the hospitality business why are we set to spend $400 million for a taxpayer built hotel?

I wonder if anyone in a position of authority in Cuyahoga County is going to start questioning the Counties crony capitalist economic model? The answer, of course, is NO. And that is the real reason this region is struggling.