Category: Hospital Mergers

UofL Has Not Announced Its New Clinical Partner(s).

Has the University of Louisville’s Request for Proposal process collapsed?

Just before I left for an extended trip to Europe, I learned that Dr. David Dunn of the University of Louisville had received the blessing of that institution’s Board of Trustees to sign a deal with a new “partner.” No meaningful details were released to the community but I used the opportunity to comment on how I thought a new affiliation contract should be evaluated by representatives of the public.

Hurricane Sandy delayed my return to America where I fully expected to see headlines announcing that a new business deal had been struck. However, the mainstream media that have been following this matter were stone-cold silent. Never allowing a lack of information to stand in the way of seeking the truth, I contacted several individuals whose speculation is more informed than my own and who told the same story. Negotiations with all parties are thought to have collapsed.

I say now to the University of Louisville, it appears that your RFP may have run its course. I urge you to start over. This time you need to view your community as a partner and not as an enemy or obstacle. Because you are doing the public’s work, this is the only credible position you can adopt. Continue reading “UofL Has Not Announced Its New Clinical Partner(s).”

Meeting Confirms Plans to Increase Dependency of UofL on Clinical Income.

Will the Goose Survive?

I attended a faculty and staff town-hall meeting with the senior officers of the University of Louisville that was held on the Belknap campus last September 20. I knew that I would be unable to attend a similar meeting at the Health Sciences Campus (HSC) October 12, but was hoping for an opportunity to take the pulse of the faculty on the matter of the question: “Is the University was going in the right direction.” I can’t say my question was answered, but I gained a few insights relevant to current controversies at the Medical School.

To summarize: Belknap employees expressed neither concern nor interest for what is happening on the HSC and Hospital. Financial concerns about salaries and ability to recruit faculty dominated. No magic bullets were offered. Specific remedies to current financial distress were thin on the ground. Is seems clear that the University is planning on increasing clinical revenue to support non-clinical academic activities. I invite faculty or staff who did attend the companion meeting at the HSC to tell the rest of us what happened, or to contact me confidentially. Continue reading “Meeting Confirms Plans to Increase Dependency of UofL on Clinical Income.”

End of UofL’s Search for New Partner In Sight?

What should an agreement look like?

Last week, administrators of the University of Louisville received permission from its Board of Trustees to sign a final agreement with one or more undisclosed healthcare companies to form a new management partnership for at least some portion of the healthcare operations of the School of Medicine. Doctors at Jewish Hospital have been told to expect an emergency meeting to hear of the results. The whole process has been carried out under military-grade secrecy. One hopes that at least UofL’s Board of Trustees got the whole story.

The University used as an excuse that secrecy is required by state contracting rules. Of course, playing by the rules did not stop UoL from continuing its behind-the-scenes planning with Jewish Hospital. In fact, I wonder if this column’s exposé of that activity was not responsible for forcing UofL to broaden its search options. We will soon see whether this was for the better or not. I will not belabor the list of possible participants for a new deal. The most recent one is the publicly held company Health Management Associates (HMA) out of Naples, Florida, or some combination of HMA with Baptist Hospital. It has been fun to speculate, but the game has run its course and it is time to turn over the hole-cards.

Last December, I wrote to the Governor and Attorney General suggesting that it was inappropriate for the University to ask for approval of the planned acquisition of University Hospital by Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) when none of the details had been made available to the public.  I now find myself writing again for exactly the same reasons.  I wrote later outlining what I thought an agreement between the University of Louisville and CHI or any other new partner should look like before their offices approved a new deal. I think those suggestions are still relevant and I now update those comments briefly below. Additionally, I emphasize that any proposed arrangement must be presented to the public for its comment before any final approval is given. The University can now no longer hide behind RFP rules to avoid their obligation to its public. Continue reading “End of UofL’s Search for New Partner In Sight?”