<< Front page Commentary December 12, 2003

Merger needs transparency

The recent revelations that negotiations between the Allen Medical Center Board and representatives of Community Health Partners lack transparency is disturbing. For a center whose primary purpose is to serve the health care needs of the community, the negotiations are being run strikingly like a corporate merger.

Of course, it is hard to tell what their motives are because the entire process has been shrouded in secrecy. City council, the College and likely even members of the hospital board have not seen the final merger document, which seems to be circulated only among certain members of the board and CHP management.

This secrecy has also extended to the College, which has played a largely complacent role in the merger talks. Upon investigation, it was revealed that Edwin Oley, the president of Allen Medical Center, had a conversation with Nancy Dye on Dec. 4. Vice President of College Relations Alan Moran claims that the College asked for more information at this meeting that would be delivered at a later date. A more likely scenario is that Oley was testing the waters with Dye, and she was convinced to go with the flow. The request for more information is particularly interesting because Moran said that the delivery could occur in a matter of weeks while the Allen board is voting to dissolve itself on Dec. 22.

The College’s representative on the board, Andrew Evans, has said that the College is willing to support “whatever efforts are made towards providing health services.” This is a thinly-veiled admission that the College is willing to go along with whatever the board decides to do.

This is a huge mistake. The board, aside from Evans, has very little accountability to the residents of Oberlin. There is one city council liaison, but the position was thrown into flux since Sandra Hodge resigned from the post on Sept. 19.

The city relinquished virtually all control over the hospital’s board when the College bought the facility two years ago. Therefore, the College has every right to express due concern over the negotiations affecting its property.

While not having the power to veto any merger, the College should at least pressure the board to not act in haste, especially when so many questions about the merger remain unresolved.

The Allen Medical president’s conversation with Dye shows that the board is seeking College approval and cooperation. The passive and closed-mouth response on the part of the College shows a gross lack of responsibility from the administration in reaching out to the community, both College and county residents.

The College should urge transparency on this issue. There are no immediate financial straits and the hospital can survive independently for as long as it takes these issues to be adequately worked out.

The College should still be vigilant on behalf of the e community, especially in the case of an institution that has been so vital in the community so long.

No one knows what will happen when a merger occurs as it surely will but the community leadership of the board should feel a responsibility to steer clear of veiled antics that appear to the naked eye similar to corporate, for-profit takeovers.

CHP should be commended for their exemplary management of the hospital. There is no scent of wrong-doing or conflict of interest. However, to convince the community that a merger with CHP is the best solution for the hospital’s limited budget and services, it should take much more than a paternal approach that “we know best.”

Many people in the community have questions, and it will be telling how CHP officials deal with public concerns. So far, their response has been anything but forthcoming.

Their demeanor means a lot. They have threatened to pull out if the Allen board pursues any merger with another health care system. They have made it very clear that they expect things to fall into place because “CHP was (and is) the only organization interested in maintaining a hospital in Oberlin,” according to their presentation.

The fact that they would make this claim without testing Allen‘s marketability is telling about the way they have approached the entire merger process.

The community should be alarmed, especially with so many people’s lives at stake.

   

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