Rocket Nation Recovery Part 46 – Many rumors have spread about The UToledo Medical Center (hospital). What is fact vs. fiction? What is blind hope vs. stark reality? A number of current and former UTMC executives shed light on key questions to consider.
Is it true that the small profit made by the hospital from July 2022 thru June 2023 came from three non-operating revenue impacts – – not operational improvement decisions made by UT’s top leader?
- $14M from supplemental revenue from Medicare and Medicaid negotiated by consulting firm Sellers Dorsey?
- $2M from a one-time Covid payment?
- $4M in profits from financial investments?
Is it possible that the hospital ran an operating loss close to $15M absent these revenue impacts?
Is it true that:
- The small profit made from July 2023 to December 2023 came from the same non-operating revenue impacts above? Is it possible that operating losses continued?
- For every $1 in new revenue generated by the hospital, they are incurring over $1 in additional expenses? If this is true, is that sustainable?
- After a few short months the new UT Chief Health Officer resigned after looking at operations, deferred investments, personnel challenges, and being continuously lied to?
- Hospital profits are not being driven by operational improvements?
What will happen if:
- The Medicare and Medicaid payment schedule changes?
- The hospital continues to barely breakeven and has no substantive profits to reinvest in operational improvements to catch-up to competitors?
- Recruiters continue to draw top doctors, nurses and staff away from UT?
- UTMC Physicians Group continues to lose money?
Is it possible that UT’s top leader has made few decisions to position the hospital for sustainable operations and profits beyond 12 to 18-months?
If you were a trustee, would you base your support of UT’s top leader exclusively on the short term breakeven and survival of the hospital? Could it be a feel-good illusion? Would you be open to the possibility that few operational improvements have been made to support long-term survival?
If you were a trustee, would your confidence in UT top leaders be so high that you would be willing to gamble the livelihoods and future of 5,000 plus UT and UTMC employees, their families, local business owners, and the Toledo community?
If you were investing your personal money, how confident are you that UT’s top leader has the honesty, connections, and crisis management skills, experience, and desire to prevent a disaster?
Would you publicly bet your personal reputation on it?
Is it time for the trustees to vote? Is it time to selflessly and courageously stand up, stop the charade, and do the right thing?
It’s ok to feel uncomfortable in a crisis. Please pray for thoughtful, compassionate accountability and urgent actions to revitalize The Rocket Nation.
