The Observation Deck

Tonight, the Foundation Planning Task Force will be presenting its recommendations tonight at the Council of the Whole meeting at 6pm.

http://www.onelakewood.com/wp-content/u ... -21-18.pdf

Generally, the beginning determines the end.

However, in this case, the end was determined before the beginning began.

From my perspective, all of the hard work of the well intentioned task force members will have no impact on the inevitable predetermined end of charity care in Lakewood.

Bottom line: Lakewood gets nothing, because the folks that controlled what we once had did not want us to have what we once had.

Kevin Butler February 2015: “We don’t want to fight.”

This feckless “leader” insured that the end was determined before the beginning.

Without a fight.

Similarly, the FPTF findings are unfortunately a non-event.

I respectfully submit to my fellow deck members that, like the ER, this may not be as much as it could have been, but it is something.
It's not nothing, and worth watching.

Brian Essi wrote: FPTF findings are unfortunately a non-event.

Brian,

You couldn’t be more wrong. When the COW video is posted, watch. Don’t make judgments based on other things. This WILL make an impact. It WILL be representative of what the community asked for.

What the community asked for was based on an expensive PR campaign quaterbacked by crisis communication firms that peddled half truths and outright lies such as the City did not own the Hospital and that it was going to be a "discussion." The emails that Mr. Essi has had to fight the City tooth and nail for illustrate at least that much. To say otherwise is just disingenuous.

bentleymike wrote:

Brian Essi wrote: FPTF findings are unfortunately a non-event.

Brian,

You couldn’t be more wrong. When the COW video is posted, watch. Don’t make judgments based on other things. This WILL make an impact. It WILL be representative of what the community asked for.

Mr. Bentley:

Mr. Essi's primary observation is that the Healthy Lakewood Foundation will never have enough funds on an annual basis to replace the approximately $7,000,000 in charity care that Lakewood Hospital provided each year to the community. This appears to be a truthful observation.

Yes, the Healthy Lakewood Foundation will obviously have an impact, but this impact only marginally mitigates what was lost in February 2016.

Let me put a finer point on this. Since February 2016, there has been a significant void in our local healthcare ecosystem. No hospital. No family health center. No new foundation. The impact that the Healthy Lakewood Foundation has to achieve right-out-the-gate is (hypothetically) to replace almost three year's worth of lost healthcare services. Obviously, this can never be accomplished.

The citizens of Lakewood were promised a new model of healthcare. To date, that new model has not been delivered by any of the participants or beneficiaries of the Master Agreement.

While the Healthy Lakewood Foundation may be representative of what the community sought, this is fundamentally limited by the control of the Master Agreement embedded in your incorporation documents and the contractual/institutional control that the Cleveland Clinic Foundation has over certain board seats and certain future funding.

I appreciate all of the work that was done by the Foundation Planning Task Force and the sincerity of their public interest.

But, let's be realistic about the background facts and the scope of the foundation.

Like Mr. Essi, most of us are tired of public relations spin. Especially, when that public relations spin has obscured the loss of public revenues and the loss of an invaluable community asset when it was clear that another esteemed public institution (Metro) was prepared to maintain the hospital as a going-concern with new capital investment.

The funds that the Healthy Lakewood Foundation will expend could have been more properly tasked to the support of a hospital in our community.

Same point applies to the reinvented Lakewood Hospital Foundation.

There is also a non-healthcare analysis that goes something like this:

Public municipal physical and financial assets as well as contract reversion rights related to Lakewood Hospital were liquidated by the Master Agreement to be conveyed in part at a future date to a new non-profit foundation (now named Healthy Lakewood Foundation).

This is just another indirect public subsidy to a private party.

Sure, this is all water-over-the-dam now.

However, citizens and taxpayers do need to understand how tens of millions of dollars in public assets and millions in annual public revenues have been re-positioned and converted to private use, because, ultimately, we will pay for this conversion in higher taxes.

While I have not seen pro forma revenue statements from the Healthy Lakewood Foundation, we know that this is a non-event because such revenues would be a mere fraction of the annual charity care donated by Lakewood Hospital to the community.

Mark Kindt said [quoteHowever, citizens and taxpayers do need to understand how tens of millions of dollars in public assets and millions in annual public revenues have been re-positioned and converted to private use, because, ultimately, we will pay for this conversion in higher taxes.][/quote]
Tangible assets - buildings, bank accounts, etc. have been re-positioned. But, by various estimates, over $100 million has just simply vanished. It wasn't CCF's money so they don't care. But, it was value held in the public trust that has just plain disappeared.

bentleymike wrote:

Brian Essi wrote: FPTF findings are unfortunately a non-event.

Brian,

You couldn’t be more wrong. When the COW video is posted, watch. Don’t make judgments based on other things. This WILL make an impact. It WILL be representative of what the community asked for.

I'm sorry Mr. Bentley, but I have made no judgment based upon anything but fact.

As you know, I am well versed in the legal contract that you and I both know circumscribes the superior rights and power that CCF has with respect to all money that might be headed to the "foundation." This is especially true now that the FPTF has recommended essentially what Summers, Butler and the other feckless leaders "asked for"---i.e no Lakewood control and "no fight" to help the underserved of Lakewood.

This is not at all your fault or the FPTF's---it was decided long before your appointments.

In the end, the only "impact" will be akin to a mosquito hitting a windshield at 100 MPH--nothing anyone can ever see or feel or smell.

Mr. Alaimo,

There is nothing to "watch"---nothing to see. It's time to move on---away from the din of the empty words mouthed by our fake leaders who sold out the underserved. They represent only themselves and the special interests that serve as their keepers. And O'Leary is as culpable as the rest--he lied for his keeper to promote himself--perhaps.

There is "nothing"---except for a legacy of failure by those in charge.

Here is the video from last night's Committee of the Whole meeting, which includes the Task Force's presentation and questions/comments from city council:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2COsyjth10g

Dan OMalley wrote:Here is the video from last night's Committee of the Whole meeting, which includes the Task Force's presentation and questions/comments from city council:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2COsyjth10g

Is there a written report?

I noticed on the City web site that the claim is made that the Cleveland Clinic is making donations to the new Foundation in exchange for taking ownership of the assets of Lakewood Hospital. Those assets included cash.

Just how much cash was transferred to the Clinic?

If the City gives the Clinic $28 million in cash from Hospital accounts and then the Clinic returns part of that money over time Isn't it the City that is funding the new foundation?

How much is the Clinic charging the City (LHA) to operate the current emergency room?

Can I get copy of the appraisal of Lakewood Hospitals business and assets?

Has anyone on Council asked for a report detailing the disposition of cash and investments and plant and equipment?

It's not a complicated issue. First you have $55 million in cash and investments and then you don't. Where did it go?

Bill Call wrote:

Dan OMalley wrote:Here is the video from last night's Committee of the Whole meeting, which includes the Task Force's presentation and questions/comments from city council:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2COsyjth10g

Is there a written report? Not that I am aware of.

I noticed on the City web site that the claim is made that the Cleveland Clinic is making donations to the new Foundation in exchange for taking ownership of the assets of Lakewood Hospital. Those assets included cash.

Just how much cash was transferred to the Clinic? As far as I can determine, they retained all of the cash and investments, and subsequently made certain payments or agreed to make certain future payments to the city and others.

If the City gives the Clinic $28 million in cash from Hospital accounts and then the Clinic returns part of that money over time Isn't it the City that is funding the new foundation? It is obvious to me that this is an indirect transfer of public assets to a private entity.

How much is the Clinic charging the City (LHA) to operate the current emergency room? This cannot be determined as it is not available to the public.

Can I get copy of the appraisal of Lakewood Hospitals business and assets? To my knowledge no appraisal of Lakewood Hospital was made prior to the Master Agreement. Even if such an appraisal existed, it would not be available to the public without litigation, since LHA is a private entity. Of course, the recent appraisal excludes the existing ER and hospital building. It is meaningless.

Has anyone on Council asked for a report detailing the disposition of cash and investments and plant and equipment? To my knowledge, the answer to this question would be a resounding "No".

It's not a complicated issue. First you have $55 million in cash and investments and then you don't. Where did it go? POOF!

Comments of Mark Kindt to Mr. Call's questions in blue.

I will repeat myself:

The citizens, taxpayers and voters of the City of Lakewood have witnessed the most extraordinary, brazen, and well-lawyered "heist" of public assets in the entire history of the city.

Aspects of that "heist" continue to unfold as former members of the Lakewood Hospital Association serving on city council continue the disbursement of Lakewood Hospital funds and assets to third-party entities and commit the hospital to its fate of demolition.

Good job fellow Democrats!

I rest my case.

Here you go, starts around 46 minutes in...


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bentleymike wrote:Tonight, the Foundation Planning Task Force will be presenting its recommendations tonight at the Council of the Whole meeting at 6pm.

http://www.onelakewood.com/wp-content/u ... -21-18.pdf

Mr. Bentley

After watching the video I have two questions.

1) It would seem that you have kept us up to date, it would see, that a couple council people were in the dark, had you supplied them with updates and documents?

2) Where can one locate the white paper on your hard work and the process?

It would seem a lot of work and discussions have happened over the past year and I would hate for all of it to be lost in the blink of an eye, or at the hand off. As it seems much has been left to the new foundation, it would be interesting to many of us what your committee came up with, and the thought process it behind it.

Is it all available in a form that can be shared? Most task forces such as this issue findings for the public.

Thank you for your hard work.

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