Category: Norton Kosair Children’s Hospital

Norton vs. UofL Lawsuit on Front Burner Again.

Is accreditation of UofL Medical School hanging on the result?

This case has been slowly grinding through the court system since it was filed in September of 2013.  Although things had been brewing for some time, the trigger event was a letter of agreement between Norton and the University of Kentucky to work more collaboratively at Kosair Children’s Hospital.  An indignant UofL fired off a letter threatening to evict Norton physically from its hospital and retain the hospital’s equipment for itself.  UofL’s self-righteous demand was much discredited when it emerged that the University had earlier promised to turn over its pediatric service to KentuckyOne Health– Norton’s chief downtown rival that badly needs a children’s hospital for its planned statewide system.  Norton responded by filing a lawsuit requesting a judicial determination that UofL had no standing to take over the hospital to use with its new best friends. The festering boil is more than ripe to lance! Continue reading “Norton vs. UofL Lawsuit on Front Burner Again.”

Major Shift in Scope of Litigation in Norton Healthcare v. Univ. of Louisville

Some major demands appear to be dropped… at least for now.

I made the pilgrimage to Frankfort this afternoon. A lot has happened since my last dip into the legal documents of this case. There were thousands of pages to review but at 25 cents per copy, I had to fall back on taking photographs of the most recent 1600 pages. There was a court hearing only yesterday! A summary of that session is attached. It looks like the otherwise short hearing was interrupted by some off-the-record discussion between the parties. The index to the video of the court proceedings attributes to Judge Wingate that “what remains in this case is the issue of the amount of the reimbursement that needs to be paid from Norton. This should be able to be taken care of through mediation.” Additionally, “The hearing on the 18th is not needed. The parties should continue in the discovery process.” Continue reading “Major Shift in Scope of Litigation in Norton Healthcare v. Univ. of Louisville”

Next Round in Norton Healthcare v. UofL.

Only Superficially About Cooperation with UK?both-logos-150

The lawsuit stemming from UofL’s claim that Norton had violated its land-lease agreement with the Commonwealth, and the initiation of a process by the University to wrest physical ownership of Kosair Children’s Hospital from Norton is on the docket for Franklin County Circuit Court on March 18. Norton is asking for a judicial determination that its non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) to cooperate more closely with the University of Kentucky over children’s health does not violate is ground lease with the Commonwealth or any other agreement with UofL. Because the Commonwealth actually holds the lease, the Finance and Administration Cabinet intervened as a defendant on the side of UofL. Continue reading “Next Round in Norton Healthcare v. UofL.”

Kosair Charities of Louisville Breaking Ties With Its Hospital.

Elvis has already left the building!elvis-closeup-150

Andy Wolfson of the Courier-Journal updated us on the status of Kosair Charities Foundation’s lawsuit with a peek at Norton Healthcare’s countersuit. It is amazing how different things can look when both sides of the story have been heard. I won’t go into additional details here as I have not yet seen the full brief myself. As was also the case in the tag-team lawsuit stemming from the University of Louisville’s attempt to evict Norton from its Children’s Hospital, attempts by the court and encouragement from the Commonwealth to have the matters settled by mediation failed. Frankly, this was not a surprise to me. It was made clear to anyone who can read that UofL wants to present a children’s hospital to its new clinical partner, Kentucky One Health. It is also obvious that the University has already wooed Kosair Charities away from Norton. Mediation only works when both sides are willing to compromise. All I see is scorched-earth tactics. In my opinion, UofL has been burning its bridges to Norton for years. In partnering with KentuckyOne, it put alligators in the moats. Continue reading “Kosair Charities of Louisville Breaking Ties With Its Hospital.”