Third Meeting of UofL Hospital Operations Review Committee.

Finally some real data.

On April 5, the Ad Hoc Operations review committee of University Medical Center, Inc. (UMC) met for the third time. This was the first meeting in which substantive analysis was presented by the consultants of Dixon Hughes Goodman. Unfortunately, Committee attendance continues to dwindle. Only five of the 10 committee members attended, one of those by telephone. In the peanut public gallery were myself, reporter Patrick Howington, and someone from Brown-Forman. One additional meeting before a final meeting on May 9 is planned.

The entirety of the meeting was a PowerPoint presentation by the consultants with only a few questions and comments from committee members. No handouts were presented as the material was said to be a work in progress. I could not help but suspect there was also some desire that the information not be disseminated. Indeed, most of the data presented must have been disappointing to the University. In any event, I photographed the projected slides and they are available here.

Senior consultant Craig Anderson, Sr. gave an update on the status of the project and lead his team of two additional people through a brief review of the challenges facing all academic medical centers (AMCs), some themes and observations from initial interviews with Hospital and University personnel, and some initial data addressing four of the hypotheses to be tested: lack of physician alignment, quality of clinical care and operations, payer environment, and facility constraints. Continue reading “Third Meeting of UofL Hospital Operations Review Committee.”

QCCT Fund for Indigent Medical Care in Play Again.

Good Time to Rethink Charity Care In Louisville Anyway?

Tom Loftus of the Courier-Journal reported last Friday that the Senate version of the state budget for the next two years would cut the amount contributed to the fund used by University of Louisville Hospital to pay for care for certain medically indigent patients by over $5 million per year– a total of $11.4 million less than the House and Governor’s versions over the the next biennium.  The QCCT (Quality Care and Charity Trust) is an ongoing agreement between the Commonwealth, the City of Louisville, and University of Louisville Hospital to fund medical care for certain medically indigent patients. Under the proposed Senate cuts, the QCCT would receive a reduced sum totaling about $15.1 million yearly. Continue reading “QCCT Fund for Indigent Medical Care in Play Again.”

New Public Health Director for Louisville: Follow-up (or lack thereof).

On June 24, I sent a copy of the June 18  Blog entry below to Louisville’s Mayor Greg Fischer, and to Mr. William Altman, Chairman of Louisville’s Department of Public Health. I repeated my request to reconsider the employment structure of Dr. LaQuandra S. Nesbitt, the new Director of Public Health and Wellness. (Cover letter here.)  The letter contains the mission statements of the Louisville Board of Health emphasizing its independence.

I have not had a response, nor am I aware of any new information.  What do you know, and what do you think?  Add your two bits.

[Addendum Dec 14, 2011:  When I wrote the above letter to the Board of Health and the Mayor’s office, I somehow thought that the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness  reported to the Louisville Board of Health– imagine that!   While the details of accountability still elude me, it seems that the LMPHW Department is a branch of Louisville Government, reports to the Mayor, and is only “advised by the Board of Health. The Board of Health is “independent,” and is appointed by the Mayor.  Its Chairman was on the search committee for the new Director, Dr. Nesbitt.  If anyone can straighten me out about this, please do so.  The details of the organizational chart do not affect the substance of my letter nor my concerns.  I still think her dual employment it is a bad idea. The absence of her counsel in the current debate over the acquisition of University Hospital is appropriate given her conflict of interest, but missed.

Peter Hasselbacher, MD