Butler Guilty of Public Records Law Violations-Part I

[Brian Essi]

I have made numerous Public Records Requests that law Director Kevin Butler has failed to comply with in violation of Ohio law and his sworn duties.

The request below is the first in a series of my requests that I plan to make public on the Deck if Mr. Butler continues to violate the public records laws.

I received no response at all to this request.

Mr. Butler's concealment of this information calls into question the validity of the Huron Report and Butler's and Summers' role in the results.

Here is the full request:

From; Brian Essi

Aug 18, 2015

ToKevin Butler, Mary Hagan, John Bodine
CCMary Madigan, Tom Bullock, and 8 more...

Re: Public Materials Provides to Huron

Dear Director Butler, Ms. Hagan and Mr. Bodine,

Pursuant to public records laws, kindly produce the following materials all of which are referred to on pages 5, 6, 47, 54 and 55 of the Huron Report dated August 14, 2015:

1. Cleveland Clinic' 2014 Shared Admin Service Allocation (Lakewood Brief) Presentation (undated)

2. Cleveland Clinic's LHA 2014 Admin Services Details and Allocation Methodology Excel File (undated).

3. Subsidium Healthcare's Lakewood Hospital Data Book (undated)

4. Patient day data for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010 through 2014 and the year-to-date period ended June 30, 2015.

5. Subsidium Healthcare's Lakewood Hospital Association Board of Trustees Strategic Options Evaluation Process, dated January 12, 2015.

6. Key Performance metrics for Lakewood Hospital for the year-to-date period ended November 30, 2013 and the fiscal yea ended December 31, 2014.

7. "Lakewood City Council Committees of the Whole Considering the Letter of Intent."

8. Thompson Hine opinions: The Huron Report at page 47 states "According to Thompson Hine LLP, counsel for the City, pursuant to the terms of the Definitive Agreement and the Lease Agreement, the Cleveland Clinic does not have a general obligation to fund operating losses." Please produce all records provided to Huron Consulting by Thompson Hine, the City or any of their representatives regarding this statement or opinion of Thompson Hine. Also please produce any and all records of communication between or among Thompson Hine and Huron Consulting or either of their representatives regarding Lakewood Hospital and/or Thompson Hine's engagement as attorneys for the City.

9. Administrative Services. Please produce:

a. all records of the interviews of representatives of LHA and the Cleveland Clinic referred to on page 54 of the Huron Report.

b. any confidentiality agreement signed by Huron Consulting or any of its representatives regarding "proprietary and confidential documentation provided by Cleveland Clinic regarding specific fees incurred and the allocation thereof" referred to on page 54 of the Huron Report.

c. all "documentation provided by Cleveland Clinic regarding specific fees incurred and the allocation thereof" that was provided to and reviewed by Huron Consulting and referred to on page 54 of the Huron Report.

d. all "correspondence and written documentation" reiterating statements that formed Huron's "understanding that the clinical and administrative service fee are direct costs that are incurred by Cleveland Clinic and allocated to Lakewood Hospital"---referred to on page 54 of the Huron Report.

As to this request number 9, kindly be advised that the Lease (a public contract with a public charity) requires "full disclosure of hospital operations" to the general public of which I am a member. In that regard, the claim that "specific fees incurred and the allocation thereof" to LHA are somehow "proprietary and confidential documentation" in the hands of the Clinic has no basis in law or fact. Indeed, the Clinic is the managing fiduciary of a public charity pursuant to a public contract, has custody of public money and property and is in sole possession of said public documentation substantiating the fees charged---claiming that they have "proprietary and confidential" rights to keep the information from us turns logic and the law on its head. On the contrary, that documentation directly relates to hospital operations, the viability of the hospital and the legitimacy of the fees charged---one issue both City Council and the Executive Branch of the City apparently agreed upon when they tasked Huron to investigate it and, therefore, the public has the right to know.

Finally, while I understand that Huron was at the mercy of the Clinic as to the information produced, it is unsettling to me that the information the Clinic did produce was so limited that Huron had to use the following qualifiers in reporting to us about it: "It is our understanding...If so, and assuming...is reportedly determined by...it is reasonable to assume....and the Cleveland Clinic has claimed..." On April 8, 2015, Mayor Summers expressed similar concerns when he told me "our partner is not being very transparent" referring to the same issue of administrative fees.

Why would we consider any future arrangement that would benefit an entity that treats us this way in regard to basic information we have a full right to know?

Sincerely,

Brian J. Essi

[Marguerite Harkness]

This Admin Services thing IS A BIG DEAL. (Thanks for asking for this, Brian.)
Clinic is sucking out over $24 million EVERY YEAR, of which maybe $4 million pertains to services necessary for the functioning of the hospital operations. (This is derived from EY audited reports, footnote at end of report, Functional Expenses.) Charges went from about $10 million, to about $14M, to about $20M and have been in excess of $24 million for years now.
That's about 20% of gross revenue; overall, Clinic's admin expense is only about 2% or 3% of their gross revenue.
We have not been able to get an answer.
They have sucked over $146 million out of Lakewood, which is the amount they used to pay for Avon.

[Michael Deneen]

Perhaps Jen Pae can shed some light on the situation.

[Amy Martin]

She'll shed something, not so sure about light . . . .

[Brian Essi]

Lakewood Hospital Data Book.pdf

(1.01 MiB) Downloaded 144 times

Initially--29 days and no response--a per se violation of the law that requires a response within 72 hours.

One Deck Post---and 4 hours later I got two responses from our recalcitrant public officials.

The Deck is not just a good thing--it a great thing with a variety of uses!

Special thanks to Matt Markling for his inspirational idea for this creative use of the Deck to "motivate" public officials.

Below is Mr. Butler's response. The City produced 31 documents in response to two of my 12 requests. I have attached one above. They claim to have no documents responsive to the other 9 requests, but they say they will ask Huron--29 days after my request.

Keep in mind, City Hall withheld the requested documents all of which were mentioned in the Huron Report and served as the foundation for Huron's allegedly pivotal "conclusions."

This means, once again, that much of the information the City and its consultant are relying on comes from.....you guessed it--the Cleveland Clinic--the trustworthy steward of Lakewood's future healthcare.

And has ANYONE at City Hall scrutinized that information coming from CCF? No!--they claim they never had it and don't have it! WOW!


Butler, Kevin

Sep 16 at 5:08 PM

To'Brian Essi'
Hagan, Mary
John Bodine
CCMadigan, Mary
Bullock, Tom
Anderson, David
Marx, Cynthia
O'Leary, Sam
and 6 more...

Mr. Essi:

I’ve taken each of your requests in turn.

1. Cleveland Clinic' 2014 Shared Admin Service Allocation (Lakewood Brief) Presentation (undated). Response: The city has no records responsive to this request.

2. Cleveland Clinic's LHA 2014 Admin Services Details and Allocation Methodology Excel File (undated). Response: The city has no records responsive to this request.

3. Subsidium Healthcare's Lakewood Hospital Data Book (undated) Response: I am uncertain whether the attached information is the document referenced, but this document (“Lakewood Hospital Data Book.pdf”) is what’s in the city’s possession.

4. Patient day data for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010 through 2014 and the year-to-date period ended June 30, 2015. Response: The city has no records responsive to this request.

5. Subsidium Healthcare's Lakewood Hospital Association Board of Trustees Strategic Options Evaluation Process, dated January 12, 2015. Response: The city has no records responsive to this request.

6. Key Performance metrics for Lakewood Hospital for the year-to-date period ended November 30, 2013 and the fiscal yea[r] ended December 31, 2014. Response: The city has no records responsive to this request.

7. "Lakewood City Council Committees of the Whole Considering the Letter of Intent." Response: We are uncertain whether the committee of the whole minutes Mary Hagan sent today are the materials referenced in Huron’s report, but these documents are what are in the city’s possession.

8. Thompson Hine opinions: The Huron Report at page 47 states "According to Thompson Hine LLP, counsel for the City, pursuant to the terms of the Definitive Agreement and the Lease Agreement, the Cleveland Clinic does not have a general obligation to fund operating losses." Please produce all records provided to Huron Consulting by Thompson Hine, the City or any of their representatives regarding this statement or opinion of Thompson Hine. Also please produce any and all records of communication between or among Thompson Hine and Huron Consulting or either of their representatives regarding Lakewood Hospital and/or Thompson Hine's engagement as attorneys for the City. Response: The city will not provide copies of Thompson Hine documents or communications because they are privileged and excepted from the Public Records Act under R.C. 149.43(A)(1)(v).

9. Administrative Services. Please produce:

a. all records of the interviews of representatives of LHA and the Cleveland Clinic referred to on page 54 of the Huron Report. Response: The city has no records responsive to this request.

b. any confidentiality agreement signed by Huron Consulting or any of its representatives regarding "proprietary and confidential documentation provided by Cleveland Clinic regarding specific fees incurred and the allocation thereof" referred to on page 54 of the Huron Report. Response: The city has no records responsive to this request.

c. all "documentation provided by Cleveland Clinic regarding specific fees incurred and the allocation thereof" that was provided to and reviewed by Huron Consulting and referred to on page 54 of the Huron Report. Response: The city has no records responsive to this request.

d. all "correspondence and written documentation" reiterating statements that formed Huron's "understanding that the clinical and administrative service fee are direct costs that are incurred by Cleveland Clinic and allocated to Lakewood Hospital"---referred to on page 54 of the Huron Report. Response: The city has no records responsive to this request.

Huron Consulting Services is not the city’s agent and the scope of its services did not include furnishing all materials upon which it relied for the preparation of its report. However, I have forwarded your requests to Huron to determine which documents it may release within the scope of its services. If we receive any such documents, we will forward them to you.

Best wishes,

Kevin M. Butler, Director of Law
City of Lakewood | Law Department
(216) 529-6034
kevin.butler@lakewoodoh.net

[Bill Call]

Excellent work as usual.

A few thoughts and one pet peeve:

pet peeve: It's mentioned in this report that Lakewood is an aging community. It's a statement made by a lot of people and seen a lot in print. It's true but inaccurate. It's true because the whole country is aging and its inaccurate because Lakewood is a much younger community than surrounding communities:

Median age in Ohio: 39.3 years

Rocky River: 46.8
Fairview: 42.2
Bay Village: 44.
Avon Lake: 43.8
Avon: 41.8
Westlake: 44.3

Lakewood: 35.2

USA: 36.8

Lakewood is younger than all of its surrounding communities and younger than the USA as a whole.

Thoughts:

The Hospital made money in ALL of the years included in the Subsidium report.

The Hospital had a positive cash flow in ALL of the years included in the Subsidium report.

Half of the doctors using the Hospital were private practitioners. Don't underestimate the desire of those practitioners and others to escape the clutches of the Clinic.

Expect the Clinic to finance a very clever advertising campaign during the upcoming election. The Mayor's campaign will be their vehicle to sell their plans for the new 62,000 SQUARE FOOT Medical Office Building.

Just how big is 62,000 square feet? The Lakewood Professional Building is 86,528 square feet. The proposed Medical Office Building is 28% SAMLLER.

The Community Health Center (south of the garage) is 23,721 square feet. That is a very busy building that is also slated for demolition.

The combined medical office space available in those two buildings is 110,249.

The proposed medical office building is 44% smaller than what now exists. Just how much medical care will be offered at the proposed medical office building?

It is important to point this out because the Clinic and the Mayor will be sending out glossy fliers about how wonderful the new facility will be. Many people will be impressed. They shouldn't be.

How much care can be provided in such a small building?

[Bridget Conant]

I am reluctant to believe any of the "conclusions" either report came to when no one can even produce the material and figures they used to base their report on.

If I was in college and didn't have all my references noted and readily available to check for accuracy and proof, my paper would not be accepted and I'd fail.

[cameron karslake]

Man, what is with all these public employees who can't/won't do their jobs?

Reminds me of a certain county clerk down in Kentucky.

Deal with the responsibilities of you position Mr. Butler or find another job! Maybe you need a couple days "off" for you to see the light?

That Subsidium report is something! So much positive news about the state of the hospital. Thanks for posting that, Brian.

[Michael Deneen]

Man, what is with all these public employees who can't/won't do their jobs?

He IS doing his job....trying to protect the Mayor....just like Jen Pae.

It's "all hands on deck" to win this election.

[Meg Ostrowski]

Expect the Clinic to finance a very clever advertising campaign during the upcoming election. The Mayor's campaign will be their vehicle to sell their plans for the new 62,000 SQUARE FOOT Medical Office Building.

Just how big is 62,000 square feet? The Lakewood Professional Building is 86,528 square feet. The proposed Medical Office Building is 28% SMALLER.

The Community Health Center (south of the garage) is 23,721 square feet. That is a very busy building that is also slated for demolition.

The combined medical office space available in those two buildings is 110,249.

The proposed medical office building is 44% smaller than what now exists. Just how much medical care will be offered at the proposed medical office building?

It is important to point this out because the Clinic and the Mayor will be sending out glossy fliers about how wonderful the new facility will be. Many people will be impressed. They shouldn't be.

How much care can be provided in such a small building?

How much smaller when you consider the possible closing of the Clinic's facilities on Detroit and Madison?

[Bill Call]

The proposed medical office building is 44% smaller than what now exists. Just how much medical care will be offered at the proposed medical office building?

It is important to point this out because the Clinic and the Mayor will be sending out glossy fliers about how wonderful the new facility will be. Many people will be impressed. They shouldn't be.

How much care can be provided in such a small building?

How much smaller when you consider the possible closing of the Clinic's facilities on Detroit and Madison?

Excellent question!

Medical office buildings to be lost under the Mayors plan:

Family Health Center 23,721 Square feet
Medical office building on Detroit and Belle: 86,528 Square feet
Clinic health center 16215 Madison: 13,758 Square feet
Clinic health center 11851 Detroit: 12,000 square feet (est)

Total lost: 136,007 square feet.

New medical office building: 62,000 square feet

Reduction in medical office space: 74,007 ( not including hospital space)

The new medical office building will be an incredible 55% SMALLER than what we have now.

Of course we need to add in the doctors in other locations in Lakewood who will be leaving town because of this deal.

[cameron karslake]

The citizens of Lakewood are getting so screwed by this deal it's not even funny.

And yes, Michael D., I get what you're saying how Butler's job is NOT to help the people but provide cover for Summers, LHA and CCF. Shameful is what it is!