The Observation Deck

Lakewood Hospitals investment in the Westlake Imaging Center was valued at $5.2 million in 2008 and only $700,000 in 2009. What happened?

Someone told me that the Westlake building is half empty and losing money.

How could that happen?

If the facility is a money loser why is the Clinic so eager to buy the building and the business?

If the Clinic does buy the building and the business will they THEN invest in the building and the business?

The Cleveland Clinic charged Lakewood Hospital 10% ($15 million) of revenue for "administrative services" in 2009 but charged 13% ($19.4 million) of revenue in 2010. At that point the charges increased substantially:

Administrative charges:

2011 $23.8 million 16.6 % of revenue
2012 $23 million 17% of revenue
2013 $24.4 million 18.8% of revenue

One thing that is odd is that in 2011 the financial statements reported administrative charges for 2010 as $20.7 million but the 2010 financial statements reported administrative charges as $19.4 million. Where did the extra million dollars come from?

The Mayor has promised a line by line rebuttal of the charges made by Senator Skindell. I hope he delivers the rebuttal soon.

I was told that the administrative charges were for costs associated with billing. That's nonsense.

Did the Hospital Board agree to these charges? If so, why? What did they think they were paying for?

There seems to be some evidence that in 2009 the decision was made to loot the hospital and deliberately degrade its services. Who made the decision? What did the Board know and when did they know it?

Bill Call wrote:Lakewood Hospitals investment in the Westlake Imaging Center was valued at $5.2 million in 2008 and only $700,000 in 2009. What happened?

Someone told me that the Westlake building is half empty and losing money.

How could that happen?

If the facility is a money loser why is the Clinic so eager to buy the building and the business?

If the Clinic does buy the building and the business will they THEN invest in the building and the business?

The Cleveland Clinic charged Lakewood Hospital 10% ($15 million) of revenue for "administrative services" in 2009 but charged 13% ($19.4 million) of revenue in 2010. At that point the charges increased substantially:

Administrative charges:

2011 $23.8 million 16.6 % of revenue
2012 $23 million 17% of revenue
2013 $24.4 million 18.8% of revenue

One thing that is odd is that in 2011 the financial statements reported administrative charges for 2010 as $20.7 million but the 2010 financial statements reported administrative charges as $19.4 million. Where did the extra million dollars come from?

The Mayor has promised a line by line rebuttal of the charges made by Senator Skindell. I hope he delivers the rebuttal soon.

I was told that the administrative charges were for costs associated with billing. That's nonsense.

Did the Hospital Board agree to these charges? If so, why? What did they think they were paying for?

There seems to be some evidence that in 2009 the decision was made to loot the hospital and deliberately degrade its services. Who made the decision? What did the Board know and when did they know it?

Bill

I am more willing to bet the dates are more important than the over billing. Let's be honest
if you could over bill a client for $23 million a year, why would you want out of that contract. Or more accurately if you could invest ZERO, be promised you would NEVER lose
money, and over bill $23 million a year, why would you want out? What would you want
to leave this "cash cow" for? With the addition of the $23 million our profit percentages
would be ahead of Lutheran, and Fairview.

This is why some of your posts leave me scratching my head.

HOWEVER, 2009 puts you into the FitzGerald administration. A man who was a pro at
collecting power, and using things for political future, which he knew was greatness.

Your favorite mayor of all time, did many things to move to the next level, one would say
little for the people of Lakewood. He did get us to carry trash to the curb instead of
cutting $43,000 a year from his payroll. But most other things were looking towards the
governor's race and Washington.

While many will talk about Mayor George's lack of grand plans, one cannot argue he was
a person that would not harm Lakewood for personal gain.

We know the deal started in 2009, changed contract in 2010 that allowed the clinic to
move, all while the Hospital Association sat by saying nothing.

I think we need to rethink "public servants" in this town.

.

Jim O'Bryan wrote:I am more willing to bet the dates are more important than the over billing. Let's be honest if you could over bill a client for $23 million a year, why would you want out of that contract. Or more accurately if you could invest ZERO, be promised you would NEVER lose money, and over bill $23 million a year, why would you want out? What would you want to leave this "cash cow" for? With the addition of the $23 million our profit percentages would be ahead of Lutheran, and Fairview.

The Cleveland Clinic worked Lakewood Hospital like a miner works a rented mule.

The Clinic is committed to moving much of its business out of Cuyahoga County to Lorain County. Avon, population 22,000, cannot support and does not need what's being built in Avon. They need Lakewood Hospitals customers.

Their plan was always to loot what they could and leave behind an outdated facility without any customers.

I've known that for years. What I did not know was that the Hospital Board, Foundation and City of Lakewood were in full support of that policy.

The issues are complex. The campaigning is not. We live in a democracy.
http://www.americasbitterpill.com/

Bill Call wrote:[
I've known that for years. What I did not know was that the Hospital Board, Foundation and City of Lakewood were in full support of that policy.

Bill

I think the term was expedited, not supported.

We've been sold out, and we are losing money on the sell out!

.

Jim O'Bryan wrote:Bill

I think the term was expedited, not supported.

That's a fair assessment.

I think the Clinic made its final decision sometime in 2008 or 2009. The Board and Foundation had no coherent response and simply went along hoping that something might save the day. Some time in 2013 or 2014 the Board and Foundation realized that by the time the lease ended the hospital would be an empty shell.

The sole purpose of the Foundation and Board was to preserve and protect Lakewood Hospital. When they realized that they failed that purpose in a very big way they had to find a way to save face.

The solution they came up with was a disaster for the people of Lakewood. Senator Skindell said it best in his article in the Observer when he pointed out that closing Lakewood Hospital might be good for the Clinics business plan it's bad for the City of Lakewood.

The decision to close down the hospital looks more like a panic attack than a well thought out strategy for the future. Now that the Board and Foundation have presented their plan they are so emotionally invested in that plan that they cannot see how bad it is.

Something can still be salvaged but before that can happen the current members of the Board and Foundation have to resign. Who is the elected official who will take the first step and demand those resignations?

A good second step would be to demand an itemized bill for the $100 million in "administrative services" paid to the Clinic. I'm sure the members of the Hospital Board asked for that itemization each year before they approved its payment. It's time for the Board to make that information available to the public.