Memorial commission knocks status quo, likes nonprofit option
What’s good about the current governance structure of Memorial Health System? Not much, according to the commission weighing what to do with the city-owned hospital system.
On Wednesday, the Citizens’ Commission on the Ownership and Governance of Memorial Health System began weighing potential models of ownership and oversight.
It kicked things off by looking at the current structure and, alternatively, what would happen if the city spun off the hospital as an independent nonprofit.
Between the two, the nonprofit looked like a clear winner, as the commission tallied up the pros and cons of each.
“I think the system we have now is one of the most inefficient systems possible,” said Jay Patel, a commission member. “It’s got too many layers.”
Dr. Larry McEvoy, Memorial’s CEO, said that the hospital system works well with the City Council but that the structure wasn’t helping patients.
“I would also tell you that the time we spend with City Council does not add one thing at the bedside,” McEvoy said. “Do you want me out talking to physicians about improving care, or do you want me talking to politicians?”
The commission brought in Rulon Stacey, CEO and president of Poudre Valley Health System, an independent nonprofit health system in Fort Collins that started as a county-owned hospital, to talk about why his community chose to spin off its hospital.
Having an elected board in charge politicizes decisions, which can hurt the hospital and harm patients, Stacey said.
For instance, he said, Poudre Valley’s decision to open a medical center in Loveland would have become a political football because services like heart surgery were transferred to the new facility.
“A lot of people were upset because we were moving the services out of Fort Collins,” Stacey said. “Politically, it would not have happened.”
Stacey said setting up an independent nonprofit doesn’t mean the community loses control over the system.
At Poudre Valley, the nonprofit leases the system from an elected hospital district, which can terminate the lease.
On July 15, the commission will hear from Dr. Patricia Gabow, CEO of Denver Health, a former city-owned hospital that was turned into a hospital district.
Commission chairman Bob Lally said the panel wouldn’t take any options off the table until it had examined all of the possibilities.
The commission plans to recommend one option to the City Council by November, and any change would have to be approved by voters.
That, Stacey said, is a lot longer process than what happened at Poudre Valley, where only the hospital district’s board got to vote on the change.
“You’re screwed,” he said, to general laughter at the meeting. “People will make the right choice, but it’s just very difficult to make hundreds of thousands of people understand the right choice.”
Memorial citizens’ commission
The Commission is looking at options of selling or transferring the city-owned hospital system. On July 15, it will hear how Denver Health switched from a city-owned hospital to a quasi-governmental hospital district. Get more information at memorialcitizenscommission.com.
