The president of Mercy Health North, which oversees seven hospitals in northwest Ohio including St. Vincent Medical Center, has sent a letter to Ohio Department of Higher Education Chancellor Randy Gardner questioning the future of the University of Toledo Medical Center if rival ProMedica is allowed to operate it.
The university has declared the medical center, formerly the Medical College of Ohio hospital, is in dire financial straits and asked for proposals from firms interested in buying, leasing, or otherwise taking over UTMC. ProMedica said it has proposed taking over operating the hospital with the university remaining as its owner.
Bob Baxter, president of Mercy Health North, said in his letter — dated June 1 and obtained by The Blade Friday — that “the greater Toledo community is at risk of losing a hospital that provides vital health care service to the poor and underserved in our community” if ProMedica is allowed to take charge of UTMC.
The letter cited a 2015 academic affiliation agreement between the university and ProMedica which allowed the health provider to give the university’s college of medicine and life sciences an influx of money for building projects.
But the letter said over five years many of UTMC medical residents and faculty have departed for ProMedica.
“From our perspective, such relocation has taken UTMC from a vibrant and thriving academic medical institution training hundreds of residents a year to a failing hospital in just over five years.”
The letter adds that “the community is witnessing what the Federal Trade Commission previously prohibited — an attempt to consolidate and eliminate an independent hospital; in this case, UTMC,” an apparent reference to an earlier denial by the FTC to allow ProMedica to acquire St. Luke’s Hospital in Maumee.
UT officials have not released any details about possible rival proposals from other groups interested in UTMC, but they’ve said board members will discuss the matter at a regularly scheduled meeting set to take place on June 22.
The university is also in the midst of a search for an interim president to take over for current President Sharon Gaber, who will soon leave for a new job.
Following a roughly six-hour special meeting Thursday behind closed doors to discuss personnel, UT board members met for roughly two hours in executive session on Friday — in both instances taking no official action.
Officials previously stated that choosing an interim president is the board’s top priority. They also have yet to approve a separation agreement with Ms. Gaber. Her contract, which expires in 2023, requires her to give a six-month written notice prior to resigning, but the board has said it’s trying to accommodate her request to start her new job on July 1.
The board’s next meeting is 5:45 p.m. Monday with plans to discuss personnel matters behind closed doors. That meeting will follow a nominating committee meeting scheduled 15 minute prior.
First Published June 12, 2020, 4:48 p.m.
