The Observation Deck

In my attempt to make lemonade...

In a scenario where the hospital goes away, what is Lakewood to do? What would be the next best thing to having a hospital in that spot (not necessarily medically related)? Best for the community? The local economy? The region? It may not be better than the hospital, but what would be the next best thing?

Can the next best thing be better than the previous? Can it develop into the better option?

No negatives, just positive suggestions, because the "what ifs" sometimes become reality.

Corey

There aren't any.

A community hospital is an irreplaceable asset. Period.

There is no way you can replace an economic engine that generates $294 million annual spending in the community through 4400 jobs/businesses. (Not unless the 100 people who want to burn the hospital, each agree to spend $2,940,000 every year for the next 10 years to make up for the lost jobs, lost houses, lost families and spending. They think they are hot stuff, but not one of them has that kind of dough or can even count that high.)

There is no way you can replace the critical health care of a real hospital that provides surgeries, diagnostics, inpatient care, etc. - with a doc-in-a-box med office building.

There is no way a 4-room "emergency department", aka Urgent Care - could take care of thousands of people in a disaster in Lakewood or Lakewood Park - as did actually happen two times - a Storm of the Century on July 4, 1969 - and a Fireworks Blowout July 4, 1976 - when the hospital was full of injured sitting/lying in an assembly line while docs and nurses went through the lines with repairs, ointments, dressings, assessments of severity.

Why are we even discussing this? Avon "deserves" a new hospital, but we aren't "allowed" to keep ours?

Help us Save Lakewood Hospital.

Marguerite Harkness wrote:There aren't any.

A community hospital is an irreplaceable asset. Period.

There is no way you can replace an economic engine that generates $294 million annual spending in the community through 4400 jobs/businesses. (Not unless the 100 people who want to burn the hospital, each agree to spend $2,940,000 every year for the next 10 years to make up for the lost jobs, lost houses, lost families and spending. They think they are hot stuff, but not one of them has that kind of dough or can even count that high.)

There is no way you can replace the critical health care of a real hospital that provides surgeries, diagnostics, inpatient care, etc. - with a doc-in-a-box med office building.

There is no way a 4-room "emergency department", aka Urgent Care - could take care of thousands of people in a disaster in Lakewood or Lakewood Park - as did actually happen two times - a Storm of the Century on July 4, 1969 - and a Fireworks Blowout July 4, 1976 - when the hospital was full of injured sitting/lying in an assembly line while docs and nurses went through the lines with repairs, ointments, dressings, assessments of severity.

Why are we even discussing this? Avon "deserves" a new hospital, but we aren't "allowed" to keep ours?

Help us Save Lakewood Hospital.

I doubt you will curl up into a ball and rot away if the "what if" becomes a reality. So, as a forward thinker, what would be the best fit for the community? To eliminate your next knee-jerk response, I will make it for you..."an even larger hospital with more income and more employees."

Does the city and community just give up if it becomes a reality?

Corey

Mr. Rossen are you suggesting that with the same bad actors in place ( Mr. Summers, Ms. Madigan and company) that we are now going to have an inclusive and transparent process going forward, when none existed prior to this. Seriously, is this some kind of exercise in make-believe?

I agree with Marguerite.

By City Hall's own estimate, losing the hospital will cost 4 percent of the city budget.
That's a big blow.

As for alternative uses, the current administration's "go-to" for redevelopment is retail and bars/restaurants.
These are low-paying and highly volatile industries....certainly no match the income generated by a well-run hospital.

In addition to providing payroll taxes from good-paying jobs like doctors and nurses, a well-run hospital creates spinoff businesses.
Examples include doctors' offices, medical supply outlets, and restaurants.

Corey,

Please understand something here: I give you no knee-jerk responses.

FYI, our work product is the result of many thousands of hours of more than 100 investigators studying documents, minutes, leases, financials, regulatory issues, attending many meetings, visiting and evaluating the east side health center, and serious deliberations by qualified, bright, experienced, credentialed professionals of the highest caliber, to evaluate the current situation and how Lakewood got into this mess--and how to get out of it.

It is no laughing matter. It's $300 million of spending every year by 4400 people who now have jobs - and late this year might be unemployed and not able to make their mortgage payments. (One of them could be YOU - even if you're not a hospital employee.)

It's taking $200 million of community assets and reducing it to $34 million of something that someone else owns. It's selling community property for pennies on the dollar.

There are other hospital models out there, one very interesting one in Oregon; and a very well-thought-out proposal from Metro, that could fit our situation very nicely--if we can open up the door to evaluate some realistic proposals.

When Lakewood was deliberating what to do with our schools, knowing they had to reduce the number - they held many community forums which were OPEN and DELIBERATIVE - to figure out what they had to have, what they could do without, where the schools had to be, how many little kids would have to cross a major street like Detroit or Clifton to get safely to an elementary school. That process retained both Lincoln and Grant (even though the same powers that want to take down our hospital, wanted to sacrifice Grant for a rec center at that time). An open process, is not what the Mayor and his cronies did here.

We had to ferret out everything which had been stealthily hidden even though they are public documents. We had to attend many meetings to see who asked appropriate questions, who did or did not respond appropriately, and who sat silently while selfish decisions were being forced on them. We evaluated the quality of every piece of information we obtained, to determine its importance in the entire scheme.

You simply have no idea, what this high-powered group is doing to save this hospital and yes, save this city.

You should be very grateful to have this dedicated group of professionals working to save our hospital and our employees' jobs.

Marguerite Harkness wrote:Corey,

Please understand something here: I give you no knee-jerk responses.

FYI, our work product is the result of many thousands of hours of more than 100 investigators studying documents, minutes, leases, financials, regulatory issues, attending many meetings, visiting and evaluating the east side health center, and serious deliberations by qualified, bright, experienced, credentialed professionals of the highest caliber, to evaluate the current situation and how Lakewood got into this mess--and how to get out of it.

It is no laughing matter. It's $300 million of spending every year by 4400 people who now have jobs - and late this year might be unemployed and not able to make their mortgage payments. (One of them could be YOU - even if you're not a hospital employee.)

It's taking $200 million of community assets and reducing it to $34 million of something that someone else owns. It's selling community property for pennies on the dollar.

There are other hospital models out there, one very interesting one in Oregon; and a very well-thought-out proposal from Metro, that could fit our situation very nicely--if we can open up the door to evaluate some realistic proposals.

When Lakewood was deliberating what to do with our schools, knowing they had to reduce the number - they held many community forums which were OPEN and DELIBERATIVE - to figure out what they had to have, what they could do without, where the schools had to be, how many little kids would have to cross a major street like Detroit or Clifton to get safely to an elementary school. That process retained both Lincoln and Grant (even though the same powers that want to take down our hospital, wanted to sacrifice Grant for a rec center at that time). An open process, is not what the Mayor and his cronies did here.

We had to ferret out everything which had been stealthily hidden even though they are public documents. We had to attend many meetings to see who asked appropriate questions, who did or did not respond appropriately, and who sat silently while selfish decisions were being forced on them. We evaluated the quality of every piece of information we obtained, to determine its importance in the entire scheme.

You simply have no idea, what this high-powered group is doing to save this hospital and yes, save this city.

You should be very grateful to have this dedicated group of professionals working to save our hospital and our employees' jobs.

I know that the city will go on with or without a hospital. I know that with the hospital it will be status quo. I am just harmlessly wondering, in a "without" scenario, what will the next best thing be for the city and community.

I never doubted your efforts.

Corey

Unfortunately, this is a mute point. As part of the deal, after destruction of the hospital,
the land it given to the Clinic to build a Wellness Center on a fraction of the footprint. No other "caregivers" would be allowed to build and compete with the Clinic on this Health Campus. So, basically, we'll have to wait around as see what the Clinic thinks we need/deserve. What, exactly that will be and what services will be offered is unknown because the Clinic won't tell us!

Sounds like a risk worth taking, huh?

Also, under the terms of the Clinic deal, if the "Wellness Center" proves insufficient, even the city is forbidden from building a new community hospital to serve the people that are underserved by the "Wellness Center". Can you say monopoly? Just the way the Clinic likes it. Lakewood is the final piece of the puzzle for a healthcare monopoly on Cleveland's westside.

cameron karslake wrote:Unfortunately, this is a mute point. As part of the deal, after destruction of the hospital,
the land it given to the Clinic to build a Wellness Center on a fraction of the footprint. No other "caregivers" would be allowed to build and compete with the Clinic on this Health Campus. So, basically, we'll have to wait around as see what the Clinic thinks we need/deserve. What, exactly that will be and what services will be offered is unknown because the Clinic won't tell us!

Sounds like a risk worth taking, huh?

Also, under the terms of the Clinic deal, if the "Wellness Center" proves insufficient, even the city is forbidden from building a new community hospital to serve the people that are underserved by the "Wellness Center". Can you say monopoly? Just the way the Clinic likes it. Lakewood is the final piece of the puzzle for a healthcare monopoly on Cleveland's westside.

Thank you for the post.

If the hospital goes away, what could be done with the area on Detroit vacated by car dealerships, etc. to help rejuvenate the economy? What types of business provide quick, stable, long term solutions to an economy and city? High rise office towers, 2 story retail, housing, etc? Computer company, sporting goods, box store, etc.?

Corey

Instead of engaging in an exercise of "What If", which manages to both interject elements of defeatism and unaccountability into this discussion , how about if we engage in an exercise of "Who's Next". An exercise where we as residents hold Mr. Summers and Ms. Madigan accountable for the lies they've told, the games they've played, and the transparency they've stomped on. All of which dates back at least as far as Grace Ave. Let's support competent candidates who believe that honesty and transparency are fundamental principles in a healthy democracy, not something you discard when proven inconvenient to achieving an end.

Corey Rossen wrote:If the hospital goes away, what could be done with the area on Detroit vacated by car dealerships, etc. to help rejuvenate the economy? What types of business provide quick, stable, long term solutions to an economy and city? High rise office towers, 2 story retail, housing, etc? Computer company, sporting goods, box store, etc.?

Corey

Lakewood still needs a good pants store. (inside joke that some of the veteran Deckers should appreciate.)

merges perfectly with the Fashion thread

Corey, it's time for you to do something PRODUCTIVE instead of just postulating defeatist ideas. Words do nothing. Action speaks.

We HAVE a high-rise office building. It's Lakewood Center North, and it's 80% vacant. (My family's 1903 Victorian home-with-3rd-floor-tower was destroyed in 1972 so the City could build the North Garage [for the developer, who was supposed to build his own garage].)

Dru Siley and the City's Economic Development group should be working to fill THAT building. One or more, larger businesses would be a nice fit.

Lakewood Center West - is where Social Security Office used to be, until they built their nice new building farther out on Detroit. Dru should be finding new, larger businesses, to fill THAT space.

U of Akron, in the Bailey Building - I hear is leaving Lakewood. Too bad - apparently our young 'uns would rather fill their hollow legs in the bars, than fill their brains in the classroom.

And Dru, the City, and the Chamber, think it's desirable to get more bars in the city - but not an inpatient alcohol treatment center in the Hospital.

Corey, YOU can help by identifying businesses YOU would like to see move to Lakewood - and get them into these empty spaces.

The Rockport non-development, on the East End of town (where the car dealerships were) - has stalled. Council is hoping the new developer will make it happen. THAT would be a good place for a new Rec Center - or even better, for an East-End YMCA (as mentioned in other posts, a project that somehow stalled, apparently after some discouragement from City Hall.)

Rec Centers are a drain on city finances, by the way - they do not make money and their payroll tax is pennies compared to the $1-million-plus per year that the Hospital employees pay.

No point thinking about 2-story retail, when we can't even fill 1-story retail - at this time.

There are LOTS of vacant storefronts - all over town, on Detroit and Madison. A pants store could go in any one of those. There are some empties near new bridal boutiques, maybe the guys would shop at the store their fiancée tells them about.

Some wonderful new, jazzy fashion boutiques are popping up all around town. I'm especially happy to see creative young designers with attractive, interesting clothes, and pretty shoppe windows.

Big-box stores need big parking lots (read: tear down houses). The only place this would fit, is on Berea Road (across from Summers Rubber). That's a good location for soccer pitches, too - parents have to drive their kids to practice anyway. Long-gone are the days when the kids walked down the street to the playground to play ball.

Work with us to Save Lakewood Hospital.

I recall hearing that the Lakewood Soccer Association would like to see the houses on Belle & St. Charles demolished between Detroit and Franklin so that the vacant land can be used for "shared greenspace". I also believe I have heard that there are some council candidates that are running solely to see that this is done. It saddens me to see our city breaking off into little groups that appear to only care about their agendas rather than caring about our community as a whole. I believe that the mayor and council are to blame for this. After all, I recall that many of them (council) have said "yes" to him (the mayor) for many years with little to no question. However, I believe that some council members are truly concerned with our city and are trying to turn things around.

Marguerite Harkness wrote:Corey, it's time for you to do something PRODUCTIVE instead of just postulating defeatist ideas. Words do nothing. Action speaks.

Apparently you do not know me.

I do appreciate your non-defeatist approach.

Sometimes defeatists and realists have a pretty good perspective. Plus, a good head start on the future.

Marguerite Harkness wrote:[b]Corey, YOU can help by identifying businesses YOU would like to see move to Lakewood - and get them into these empty spaces.

Again, apparently you do not know me.

I am extremely pro-Lakewood, whether it is with or without a hospital. Maybe that is why I ask the question of "what could be next...just in case."

Corey