The Observation Deck

http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/20/news/ec ... index.html

Interesting read considering our situation in Lakewood.

let's hope this becomes Mike Summer's Waterloo . . . .

I'm in for as much fun as the next person at analyzing this.....however, if one is going to write an article about this, at least get your facts straight.....

(1) Fairview is not a town. Fairview Park is.
(2) The hospital is actually in Cleveland proper, not Fairview (or Fairview Park).
(3) I don't think anybody has argued that Lakewood is a "poor" area. Just that the economics of two hospitals, and geographics, don't make sense.

"I'm in for as much fun as the next person at analyzing this.... Just that the economics of two hospitals, and the geographics , don't make sense". Matthew, it is my understanding that the discussion is much more nuanced than you suggest and that there are serious people who find very little amusing about the role of The Clinic, Mr. Summers and Ms. Madigan in the possible demise of Lakewood Hospital . It would appear that among the multiple causations for Lakewood Hospital's possible closing is the deliberate and systematic siphoning off of the most lucrative practices at Lakewood Hospital by The Cleveland Clinic. It's quite possible that The Clinic employs a planned obsolescence with regards to hospitals that don't fit their business model and I believe that is where the article has merit by providing a possible motive. It can not be stressed enough that both Mr. Summers and Ms. Madigan, having chosen to remain silent while this unfolded, are complicit in the attempted undermining of Lakewood Hospital.

Matthew Lee wrote:I'm in for as much fun as the next person at analyzing this.....however, if one is going to write an article about this, at least get your facts straight.....

(1) Fairview is not a town. Fairview Park is.
(2) The hospital is actually in Cleveland proper, not Fairview (or Fairview Park).
(3) I don't think anybody has argued that Lakewood is a "poor" area. Just that the economics of two hospitals, and geographics, don't make sense.

The eagerness of City officials and Hospital Board members to close Lakewood Hospital makes no sense. We all must be missing something.

According to Subsidimum in its request for business partner for Lakewood Hospital:


Quality of care at the Hospital is high. Over multiple years U.S. News and World Report has ranked it among the top 10 community hospitals in its metropolitan area. The Hospital has over 140,000 annual encounters including inpatient, outpatient and physician care. Approximate figures for this facility
include:

 260 Licensed Beds  39,000 Annual ER Visits
 550+ Medical Staff  13,400 Annual Admissions
 1,060 Full & Part‐Time Employees  96,000 Annual Outpatient Visits
 800 Annual Births  7,000 Annual Surgical Cases



The Clinic is expanding Lutheran Hospital:

http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/inde ... cart_river

26,000 people use the ER at Lutheran so it needs to be expanded.

Yet Lakewood Hospital must be closed because "health care is changing".

Whenever you see statistics about Lakewood Hospital keep in mind that the statistics were compiled AFTER the Clinic and Board engaged in a systematic degradation of Lakewood Hospitals most profitable segments.