www.chronotype.com/newarticle.asp?T=L&ArticleID=12249 -
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Published on: 7/6/2007
Last Visited: 7/6/2007
LMC president Ned Wolf said that after exploring all the alternatives, it appears that integrating with Marshfield is the best route for the community.
The exact form "integration" would take will be part of the negotiations with Marshfield, said Wolf."There's a whole realm of how that issue can be resolved," he said.
Wolf said he believes that the hospital, as a separate corporation with its own board of directors and a community voice, will remain.
He said the change would allow the hospital to continue to deliver state-of-the-art services more cost-effectively and "ultimately preserve this wonderful community asset well into the future."
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But Wolf said the more closely the administration and board looked at options that had been broadly roughed out by the consultant, the more it became clear these options were not realistic.
"We looked at a multitude of ideas and pursued a number of them vigorously, but they simply didn't pan out," said Wolf.
"There are very few hospitals out there that have been able to remain independent and financially viable ... Lakeview has an obligation to stay focused on our mission.We are here to enhance the health of the communities we serve," he said.
A central part of the strategy to remain independent called for the recruiting of more independent doctors and the hiring of some doctors directly by Lakeview, which would have been a first in the hospital's history.
That option became more difficult to pursue, said Wolf, with the decision by Mayo affiliate Luther Midelfort to open a clinic in Rice Lake this year.
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"At that point it became clear that it would be extremely challenging to remain viable and still grow in a way the community deserves," said Wolf.
Committed to new hospital
A key part of that growth involves a new hospital facility, and Wolf said that the board remains committed to getting a new hospital for the community.
He said this will be just one of the issues that will have to be addressed in the integration talks with Marshfield.
The LMC mission of providing quality health care close to home can't be fulfilled without a new hospital in the board's opinion, said Wolf.
He said any agreement to integrate will also have to be one that's good for the hospital's more than 400 employees.
Such an agreement also will have to address maintaining a "meaningful community voice with meaningful input into decision-making by board members, administration, middle management and hospital staff."
He said it's also necessary that any agreement preserve the charity aspect of the hospital's mission.
"I'm optimistic, and I think the board is optimistic that all of this can be worked out," Wolf said.
That optimism is based in part on the fact that Marshfield Clinic has some new leadership, said Wolf.He termed preliminary discussions with the clinic as "very positive."He also said that, unlike what took place in 2005, the LMC board is the one initiating the discussion.
Another key element of the talks will be the fate of the $20 million-plus in cash reserves the board controls.Much of that had been earmarked for the construction of a new hospital.
Wolf said it is the board's position that the money be spent here for health care."I believe we will literally see that in the form of bricks and mortar for a new facility."
He said some should also be spent on community health initiatives without regard for whether those programs will make money.
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