It is important that Greater Toledo retains its own hospital system.
It no longer has its own bank.
And it has precious few Fortune 500 corporate leaders active as citizens — the kind of people who built and nurtured and led Toledo in the past.
So, even of you are not a fan of ProMedica and its CEO Randy Oostra and what both have done for Toledo — and most of us are fans — you want ProMedica to prosper and stay local and not be gobbled up by another health-care giant.
At the same time, there is a countervailing social good before us. It is important that ProMedica not be allowed to do its own gobbling when another vital community resource is at stake — the former Medical College of Ohio and the UTMC hospital.
If that hospital goes out of business, or if all of the medical college students and faculty are transferred to the Toledo Hospital campus owned by ProMedica, that’s clearly good for ProMedica.
But it is bad for the medical college, which would see its custom built campus hollowed out. And it is bad for South Toledo, which would lose a community hospital.
It would also be bad in the era of coronavirus, when there are clearly not enough doctors, nurses, or hospital beds available.
Suddenly the hospital consolidation and centralization model looks not so wise and not so healthy. We are being reminded that nonprofits devoted to public health should actually be that, first and last.
To not only save but to re-energize the UTMC campus and hospital the campus must be repopulated — with doctors.
And there is a way to do that. It is to not only allow but to invite and welcome Toledo Clinic doctors to practice and teach on the medical campus. Toledo Clinic is a large practice without a host hospital.
UTMC needs doctors. The marriage is natural, rational, and just. In the past it has been avoided or prevented. It should now be encouraged.
Bringing Toledo Clinic to UTMC as a partner simply makes sense, and it does not harm ProMedica, which will still have the capacity to host medical college students at ProMedica Toledo Hospital.
The University of Toledo’s president and board need to make this simple revivifying reform happen.
First Published April 8, 2020, 4:00 a.m.
