University of Toledo President Sharon Gaber on Tuesday laid out details for the future of the University of Toledo Medical Center, including that it will remain a university-owned teaching hospital, retain emergency services, and not reduce staff.
In a video message and letter to the campus community issued in the morning, Ms. Gaber reiterated UTMC is not closing — a message she first relayed earlier this month — and offered more information about what it will look like.
“I am happy to inform you that UTMC will continue to operate as a teaching hospital, owned by the university and here to serve our community,” she said in the video. “I say this with 100 percent confidence. Financially, our hospital is strong and has shown profitability.”
In a follow-up interview, Ms. Gaber said UTMC, the former Medical College of Ohio hospital, will retain emergency services, though she said UT officials will review keeping its Level 1 trauma-center status. The hospital had 36,000 patient visits in the emergency room last year, which is a sign of that need in South Toledo, she said.
“We’re very clear that is important and that’s what we want to do — making sure we’re meeting that need,” she said. UT officials will study the types of emergencies coming through the door to determine if a Level 1 designation is still appropriate, she said. Ms. Gaber also addressed concerns about job losses.
“At this point, we don’t have planned staff reductions,” she said. “That will evolve over time; there may be some shifting.”
It was welcome news, said LeRoy Herd, regional director at AFSCME, Ohio Council 8. AFSCME represents nearly 2,000 UTMC employees.
“We have some questions about how this will work, but on face value it sounds like wonderful news,” Mr. Herd said. “This is wonderful for the union and the community. For two years, we’ve been wanting answers. Hopefully the communication will continue to lessen the stress on the employees and the community.”
Concerns raised
Following the 50-year academic affiliation UT’s College of Medicine and Life Sciences and ProMedica signed in 2015, UTMC employees and South Toledo residents have raised concerns about the future of UTMC, the city’s only public hospital.
The affiliation makes ProMedica Toledo Hospital and Toledo Children’s Hospital an academic medical center where UT medical students and residents will be trained. ProMedica has agreed to provide the medical college with $250 million for construction and upgrades at ProMedica sites and the Health Science Campus off Arlington Avenue. The Health Science Campus is the former Medical College of Ohio.
Earlier this month, a group of about 60 UTMC employees, AFSCME and other union officials, and South Toledo residents formed a coalition to get more information about the future of the hospital.
About an hour before the group’s first meeting, Ms. Gaber released another video message saying UTMC would not close.
“UTMC is not part of that agreement, but is impacted by it,” Ms. Gaber said in Tuesday’s video. “The agreement has put us on a sustainable path forward. It has strengthened learning opportunities for our students and residents, and has attracted highly-qualified physicians and health- care leaders to our region.”
Students and residents will also continue to learn at UTMC in its role as a teaching hospital, she said.
“We recognize that messages can get misconstrued through social media and the rumor mill,” she said. “So we plan timely, consistent, and accurate updates to all of you as we know the facts.”
Dr. Christopher Cooper, executive vice president of clinical affairs and dean of the medical college, and Dan Barbee, interim CEO of UTMC, will hold a series of meetings with employees in the coming days, Ms. Gaber said.
Details sought
In a letter published Tuesday, AFCME Local 2415 President Randy Desposito called for a two-way dialogue between UT and the community as decisions are made. He invited Ms. Gaber, Mr. Barbee, and Dr. Cooper to the next forum, to be held at 6 p.m. Feb. 16 at Park Church, 1456 Harvard Blvd.
“We are optimistic that remaining questions and concerns will be answered in regards to the difference between current services and future services,” he wrote. “The transition period will be an adjustment for everyone involved but by working together we believe we can build a stronger hospital for our community.”
Ms. Gaber said the hospital needs to respond to the changing landscape of health care, which will include more emphasis on primary care and behavioral health.
Details about the health science campus’ future were scant in the university’s draft master plan presented in December.
Jason Toth, associate vice president for facilities and construction, said at the time that UT intends to maintain it as a “robust” campus, but planners were holding off until leaders make a decision about the medical center’s future uses.
Trauma center studied
UT recently concluded a review of operations, patient base, and health-care trends to determine future plans, Ms. Gaber said. Those plans will be shared with the campus community over time, she said, including the hospital’s Level 1 designation.
A Level 1 trauma center, as designated by the American College of Surgeons, is “capable of providing total care for every aspect of injury — from prevention through rehabilitation.” That includes “24-hour in-house coverage by general surgeons, and prompt availability of care in specialties such as orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, radiology, internal medicine, plastic surgery, oral and maxillofacial, pediatric and critical care,” as well as other patient-volume minimums, teaching and research requirements, and continuing education for trauma team members, according to the organization’s website.
UTMC, which has verification as a Level 1 trauma center through Aug. 30, 2019, is one of three such trauma centers in Toledo, joining Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center and ProMedica Toledo Hospital.
Toledo Hospital had more than 101,000 emergency department patient visits in 2016, according to ProMedica spokesman Serena Smith. St. Vincent had more than 64,000 patient visits to its emergency department in 2016, Mercy Health spokesman Erica Blake said.
Contact Lauren Lindstrom at llindstrom@theblade.com, 419-724-6154, or on Twitter @lelindstrom.
First Published January 25, 2017, 5:00 a.m.
