“Dr. Mitchell in his court filings asserts that both Mr. Cavanaugh and Ms. Pisanelli were being paid by ProMedica business associates and had an interest in seeing that their decisions benefited the non-profit health care system at the detriment of UTMC, which was a competitor.

Dr. Mitchell said Mr. Cavanaugh — appointed to the board in 2014 and as chairman in 2017 — voted for the negotiation and approval of the public UT-ProMedica contract on May 11 and July 24, 2015. Back then, he was president and CEO of what was then Toledo-based HCR ManorCare, which was a ProMedica business partner — together building a nursing home years earlier as a joint venture on ProMedica’s Flower Hospital campus.

ProMedica would later rescue ManorCare from a $7 billion bankruptcy and Mr. Cavanaugh later resigned from the board once he was hired as ProMedica’s chief financial officer.

Dr. Mitchell asserts Ms. Pisanelli, who was appointed to the board in August, 2015 — after the affiliation agreement was signed — has a conflict of interest regarding ProMedica because she initially worked as a partner in Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, a law firm that contracted to represent ProMedica. She then joined real estate investment trust Welltower, Inc. as Senior Vice President in July, 2017.

Dr. Mitchell notes that her tie with Welltower is a conflict of interest because the company joined in an 80-20 joint venture — known as Meerkat LLC — with ProMedica in July, 2018 to assume ownership of all ManorCare properties — the same company that Mr. Cavanaugh was in charge of.”

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