The move to discuss the matter behind closed doors came after a group of state lawmakers penned a letter last week to trustees urging the governing body to weigh public input during its search for the school’s next president and to “re-establish public trust” through a transparent process.
The lawmakers — State Sen.Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo), and State Reps. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D., Toledo), Lisa Sobecki (D., Toledo), and Mike Sheehy (D., Oregon) — specifically expressed concerns about how university officials have handled recent developments surrounding the University of Toledo Medical Center — the former Medical College of Ohio Hospital.
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seannestor
Chronicle of Higher Education: How an Academic Hospital Landed on Life Support
At the center of the debate are a pair of uncomfortable questions: Did the trustees approve and execute an agreement that gave unfair advantages to ProMedica? And did two of the trustees involved have conflicts of interest with the hospital chain?
The FBI is scrutinizing the 2015 affiliation agreement, the largest contract in the university’s history, according to a source with knowledge of the inquiry. A spokeswoman for the agency’s Cleveland division declined to confirm or deny that an investigation is taking place.
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Blade: State lawmakers call for forensic audit of UTMC
Lawmakers added the move would force the UT board of trustees to be transparent with the public “instead of denying them a voice by holding meetings behind closed doors,” referencing the April vote by UT trustees to search for a new entity to purchase, lease, or manage UTMC.
“Following the money will allow us to find sustainable solutions to the hospital’s current financial situation,” the release read.
Ms. Fedor said of particular interest would be how funding and spending changed after UT’s board of trustees signed an academic affiliation agreement in 2015 between its medical college and ProMedica.
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To the editor: Opportunity
Note: this letter was published in the May 3, 2020 edition of the Toledo Blade.
The University of Toledo now has an opportunity to hire a game-changing leader, which led me to look at who the trustees were that would select this leader.
What struck me in reviewing the trustees’ backgrounds is that we also have a crisis at UTMC, the former Medical College of Ohio Hospital, and not a single trustee is a medical doctor, hospital administrator, or has experience running a health system.
How is this possible and why has this never surfaced before? How can one successfully operate a hospital and medical school without experienced leadership at the very top of the organization?
We must do better. This university, students, and city deserve better.
CHRIS KELLY
West Toledo
Blade editorial: Opportunities at UT
I think Ms. Gaber’s departure presents UT and greater Toledo with at least three major opportunities.
Reversing its current stance and saving and securing the medical college is the first opportunity (see today’s lead editorial).
The trustees must then market the medical college and its teaching hospital, which has never really been done. They must also aggressively and effectively market the entire university, which has also never really been done.
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Blade Editorial: What next at UT?
Note: this editorial was published in the May 3, 2020 edition of the Toledo Blade.
President Sharon Gaber has resigned, and the University of Toledo is again without a president. Why can’t we get and keep a good president? That seems to be the self-flagellating question circulating around the campus and the city at the moment.
Ms. Gaber’s fans will say she was a good administrator.
Her critics will say, perhaps so, but she was not a particularly creative or courageous leader.
Both things could be true.
Others will focus on whether her new job was too good to refuse or an escape; a step up or lateral. (It seems to be a step up but a small one.)
But Ms. Gaber is gone, no matter how one assesses her tenure. The question is: How does UT move forward and by doing so move Toledo forward?
The first thing that must happen is that the UT board of trustees must be challenged, for the board remains in place, and its record in recent years is not one of dynamic or careful leadership.
Does the board have a vision for the future of the university?
Does it have a vision, or a 5 or 10-year plan, for the medical college?
The board’s first duty is to recommit to the future of the medical college and stabilize the university hospital. The hospital and the UTMC campus have been depopulated, and the hospital is now for sale.
The trustees should reverse course, cancel the proposed sale, and make a plan for the hospital. It would be an act of the utmost irresponsibility, and ultimately of self-destruction, for the university as whole, to throw away an academic hospital. UT is one of only two public universities in Ohio that has this precious asset. Ohio State University is the other.
And it is a precious asset to have a teaching hospital attached to your medical school. Think of George Washington in Washington or Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.
The University of Connecticut infused its teaching hospital, only an hour from all of New Haven’s outstanding hospitals, with new buildings, equipment, and faculty a few years ago. It did not close it or sell it or pluck it dry.
Yes, ProMedica is a great organization that has done much for Toledo. But it does not run an academic hospital.
The hospital must be revivified and to a certain extent re-created. Can it affiliate with another research institution? Can it make service to veterans its focus?
The UT board must not only lead but think.
A step toward both would be to form a separate board to oversee the medical college. It should be made up of individuals who know medicine and medical science, as well as health-care economics. These people exist in northwest Ohio and most would be willing to serve.
This UT board’s first task should be to make a plan to save the UTMC hospital and, thus, assure the future of the medical school.
Letter to UT Board of Trustees
Dear Trustees:
We write in response to the recent announcement that President Gaber is leaving the University of Toledo. We thank her for the last five years of service and wish her well in her next endeavor.
Understanding the importance of the decision this board must make in choosing her replacement, we advise the creation of a citizen advisory committee. This committee would ensure transparency and allow for public input throughout the recruitment process. The board and the university have been under public scrutiny because of work being done behind closed doors in regards to the University of Toledo Medical Center. Including the public in this decision will reestablish public trust and confidence in this board and its processes.
The next leader of the university must understand the value this public institution adds to the community and the importance of its responsibility for citizens. The best candidate should have experience in an urban university setting that can partner with the community to develop the most resources for the Toledo area. Having an understanding of urban issues is critical. Lastly, the University of Toledo has an asset in the medical center. With the help of this board, the community, and new visionary leadership, we can keep UTMC open to serve the citizens of the Toledo area.
We look forward to being a resource for the board and working with you all moving forward.
Sincerely,
Senator Teresa Fedor Ohio Senate District 11
Representative Paula Hicks-Hudson Ohio House District 44
Representative Lisa Sobecki Ohio House District 45
Representative Mike Sheehy Ohio House District 46
News Release 4/28/2020
Changes in UT Leadership on the Horizon
Grass-Roots Organization Remains Watchful
As Dr. Sharon Gaber announces her resignation as President of The University of Toledo, the grass-roots coalition “Save UTMC” pauses momentarily to wish her the very best in her new role as Chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
“We wish Dr. Gaber the very best. She was receptive to our outreach, and a fair person to communicate with,” says Carty Finkbeiner, former Mayor of Toledo and member of the Save UTMC Steering Committee.
“But make no mistake, we will continue to pursue our mission,” he continues. “This includes a forensic audit of UT finances dating back to the initial acquisition of the (former) Medical College of Ohio by UT, and the subsequent Academic Affiliation Agreement between UT and ProMedica, prior to which this was a profitable operation.”
Save UTMC has been joined recently by a chorus of public officials, including US Representative Marcy Kaptur, who are calling upon Governor Mike DeWine for a stay of the request for proposals made by the University of Toledo Board of Trustees that seek an operational partnership or sale of the University of Toledo Medical Center. The Medical Campus in South Toledo also includes the former Medical College of Ohio hospital.
Finkbeiner concludes “It is past time that the University Trustees and officials clearly understand that UTMC is owned by the taxpayers of the state of Ohio, including citizens of Toledo, and decision-making must include the men and women who have been loyal to that campus since its inception.”
Blade: Toledo mayor joins call to halt sale of UTMC
In his letter to Governor DeWine and Chancellor of Higher Education Randy Gardner, Mayor Kapszukiewicz specifically expressed concern that a sale of UTMC could lead to lost jobs while unemployment in the state and country is already soaring.
“UTMC employs over 2,300 individuals who work hard to deliver the best medical services,” he wrote. “If the hospital were to change ownership, many of those hard-working individuals could lose their jobs at a time when the ranks of the unemployed have already ballooned. This would harm Toledo’s ability to recover economically.”
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To the editor: UTMC needs helping hand
Note: this letter was published in the April 24, 2020 edition of the Toledo Blade.
As a south end resident, I had considered the Medical College of Ohio to be a very good neighbor.
When I was a member of the Celiac Support Group, our group met at the medical school, sometimes in classrooms, later in the cafeteria.
When our families needed emergency attention, MCO was where we went. The YMCA operated out of MCO and hosted numerous exercise classes.
It was a sad day to see this fraternity dissolve.
When Southwyck closed, the medical college invited seniors to walk the track at the Morris Center.
I did this for years until I was “uninvited.”
Our old neighbor needs attention. It needs a governance who is committed to her.
Please, let’s all see that she gets it.
PATTY SCHAAL
South Toledo