Behind Closed Red Doors at UofL.

What, if anything, is happening?

In their original RFP, the University of Louisville and University Medical Center, Inc. announced their intention to sign a Notification of Intent to close a deal with their preferred new partner/owner during the week of April 16. To be honest, I do not have a verifiable clue about what is going on. I have, however, heard many rumors from people closer the the potential players than I am. Since I have nothing better to write about, let me share a few of the most interesting of these. I do so to illustrate the span of concerns or perspectives that other observers have. Finally, in the absence of hard facts, l will suggest in a companion commentary what I think an agreement that is in the best interest of both our public University and the community it serves should look like. Continue reading “Behind Closed Red Doors at UofL.”

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.”

More Entrepreneurial Activity at University of Louisville.

Not all of it good!

The University of Louisville just can’t catch a break. In today’s paper were two back-to-back reports commenting on entrepreneurial activities of University faculty and employees. In one, a faculty-associated private company gains an exclusive license for a potentially new cancer treatment at the Brown Cancer Center of University Hospital. No details are given regarding ownerships, nor discussion of the obvious potential conflicts of interest. The University has referred to its indigent and Medicaid patients as “teaching material.” At the very least, some public discussion about when using captive patient populations for commercial activities is appropriate.

A second report detailed the University’s hopes to recover some half-a-million dollars that were stolen by one of their Equine Industry Program employees over a four-year period. Lax oversight of one more of the University’s programs is reported to have allowed the ongoing theft to occur. Does anyone else see a pattern here?

The article by Chris Otts noted that the funding for the program came from “special state sources” related to the racing industry. I was still a lobbyist for UofL when that enabling legislation was passed. As I remember, funneling some money to the University was added to some racing legislation as a sweetener to help ensure passage. There were few restraints on the use of this windfall, and like some of the other earmarks the University received, it became vulnerable to theft, to waste, to misdirection, and for activities peripheral to the University’s principal mission.

With all this going on, I remain stunned by the audacity of the University’s demand for more secrecy rather than the transparency appropriate for a public institution. It seems to me, we are being taken for a ride.

Peter Hasselbacher, MD
April 4, 2012

Secret UofL RFP Negotiations Continue.

Or are they really that secret?

It is hard to give an update for process that is secret, but the very fact of the secrecy is the whole point. Yesterday, March 29, the University of Louisville review committee for submissions to its Request for Proposal for a new medical center partner was supposed to have been held. Perhaps it even was. Claiming a magic invisibility cloak granted by the Commonwealth, very little information related to the RFP has been made available, and none promised until a deal with the preferred partner is finalized and signed. The lesson the University chose not to learn following its failed merger debacle last Fall (and several scandals) is that secrecy, changing stories, and lack of accountability are not the way to gain the trust of the community. If anything, University leadership has chosen now to double down on their bet that secrecy will win the day. That would be sad. Are these the lessons we want taught to our children? Continue reading “Secret UofL RFP Negotiations Continue.”