Category: Hospital Mergers

KentuckyOne Health Confronts Legitimate Role of Contraception and Abortion in Healthcare.

Catholic Church enters 20th century on reproductive health by passively accepting justifiability of contraception and abortion in its institutions.

See Partial Retraction

Background.
The Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), and KentuckyOne Health (KOH) most certainly had only an incomplete understanding of what they were getting into when they assumed management earlier this year of a secular University of Louisville Hospital and also effective control of the academic medical practices of the University’s faculty and trainees. These religious organizations must now also learn how to deal with contemporary academic research standards. KentuckyOne is promoting its intention to participate in the University’s clinical research enterprise. Indeed, Jewish Hospital has been doing so for many years. Increasing clinical research is also a prominent part of the UofL’s commercial research enterprise.

As Catholic organizations, CHI and KentuckyOne expect University employees, physicians, trainees, and patients to accept its religious tenants with respect to medical care. Indeed, trainees are now required to attest that they have received training about those religious directives. I suspect these faith-based organizations were unaware of the extent to which the Church itself was going to have to, in turn, confront and modify some of its traditional dogma in order to participate in the clinical practices and research of a modern, science-based University and Medical School. By entering the contemporary world of research; CHI, KentuckyOne, and their supervising Catholic Church have tacitly acquiesced to the reality that contraception and abortion are integral to scientific and medical standards of honest and ethical clinical research. Even if unintended, this is a break-through of historic proportions in the history of religion. I congratulate the Catholic Church for allowing its medical mission to enter the 21st Century. Allow me to explain how the Church is being forced to confront and partially alter its previously sacrosanct medieval dogma. Continue reading “KentuckyOne Health Confronts Legitimate Role of Contraception and Abortion in Healthcare.”

Major New Medical Center at Old Henry Road

header-600Additional photographs and maps supporting this article can be seen here.

Another place to collect medical dollars. Is the sky the limit?
In a previous posting, I categorized my effort at investigative journalism as a Hardy Boys adventure. I had in mind the young detectives of my boyhood reading, but a friend advised me that modern-day Hardy Boys are members of US military special forces who conduct “dark” operations. Given the nature of the secrecy surrounding healthcare planning in Louisville, perhaps I am on target in either scenario. In any case, to maintain an appropriate image of impartiality, I conducted my next excursion to the east as Nancy Drew.

As the growth of medical facilities in Louisville has evolved, all three major hospital systems have leapfrogged beyond the confines of the Watterson Expressway to the Gene Snyder Freeway (I-265) and beyond. Of course, this is neither unexpected nor unjustifiable. This is where Louisville’s population is settling — especially those with good medical insurance. I might offer my services there too. Indeed, as a patient, unless there was some special reason I needed to go downtown, I too would rather stay closer to home. Inspection of maps, real estate transactions, and observations on the ground make it clear to me that our hospitals are ready, willing, and able to expand their east-county facilities even further. New construction has already begun. What will stay downtown remains to be seen. This article will focus on the developing medical center springing up around the intersection of the Gene Snyder and Old Henry Road. I invite you to share my field trip with me and to add what you can.

Continue reading “Major New Medical Center at Old Henry Road”

KentuckyOne Health: Expansion at Dupont Circle Medical Center.

New home for UofL Faculty Private Private Practices?

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Genealogy hobbyists will tell you that while much information is available on the internet, eventually you have to get your feet dirty and go out into the real world for information. Taking that advice to heart, I played Hardy Boys last weekend and went out to walk the property of the medical facilities at the Jewish Hospital/Norton Suburban medical centers on Dutchman’s Lane and Dupont Circle. There was much to see and insights to gain. It appears to me that KentuckyOne Health already has enough land to build a major new medical facility and/or renovate and construct several smaller ones. A newly acquired office building might house a battalion of KentuckyOne and University of Louisville faculty physicians. A single additional acquisition will give the company a massive piece of contiguous land on which build nearly anything, including possibly another hospital. It is clear to me where KentuckyOne must have its sights set and I am not alone. I prepared a map showing the corporation’s current known holdings. Photographs of the properties can be seen here.

Continue reading “KentuckyOne Health: Expansion at Dupont Circle Medical Center.”

The Ides of March Are Upon Us.

The Bishops are coming!
The Bishops are coming!

The saga of the corporate takeover of the University of Louisville Hospital and most of the clinical operations of the University’s Medical School by Catholic Health Initiatives and KentuckyOne Health has been going on for so long that I have plumb run out of clever tag lines!  Today’s report by Laura Unger of the Courier-Journal reminds us that March 1 is the official “integration day” on which KentuckyOne Health formally takes the reins from the University. Continue reading “The Ides of March Are Upon Us.”