Blade: UT hires search firm to find temporary replacement for president

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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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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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: 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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Blade: State officials mum so far on potential UTMC sale

“This is not a private institution, this is a public institution,” Senator Fedor said last week at a press conference following the trustees meeting. “And I want those board of trustees to hear me straight. We are going directly to the governor to ask for his help and assistance.”

Mr. Tierney confirmed Monday that Mr. DeWine’s office has been aware of the situation long before the pandemic took up a majority of his time and focus but didn’t say if the governor would take any action.”

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Blade: Kaptur asks DeWine to halt possible sale of UTMC

“U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) is asking the Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to at least temporarily halt the potential sale or lease of the University of Toledo Medical Center, according to a letter obtained by The Blade on Saturday.”

“Miss Kaptur also requested the governor order an independent forensic audit of financial records for the medical center and the health science campus, something Carty Finkbeiner, the former Toledo mayor who represents the grassroots Save UTMC Citizens Group, applauded.”

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Blade: Save UTMC Coalition slams UT’s potential sale of hospital

State Senator Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo) reinvigorated efforts to call on the state to intervene, speaking directly to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in saying Tuesday, “we need your help now.”

“This is not the time to sell or let go of a public hospital,” Senator Fedor said. “This public hospital is the people’s hospital. And during the worst healthcare crisis we have seen in 100 years, that public hospital owned by the people has stepped up.”

She added: “Today, I feel as though the University of Toledo and the president has betrayed the trust of Toledo, the community, and the state.”

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Blade: UT board remains mum about closed-door meetings

Members of the Save UTMC Citizens Group were hopeful the University of Toledo Board of Trustees would emerge from its latest meeting behind closed doors to announce that it is moving forward Monday with initiatives to help save the the college’s medical center.

Instead, trustees emerged from their special meeting to discuss the ”trade secrets and the sale of property” only to announce no action would be taken. 

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Blade: ‘Critical for society’: How UTMC specialists worked swiftly to bring coronavirus testing to area

“Testing in Lucas County previously took up to eight days for results to finalize even as concerns around the global pandemic continued to heighten and the number of confirmed cases skyrocketed nationwide.

But today, the lab at UTMC can test up to 180 samples a day and returns take 48 hours or less. That quick turnaround is possible thanks to efforts from molecular specialists such as Ji-Youn Yeo and Heather Kvale and a handful of others at UTMC, according to Cynthia O’Connell, the administrative director of the medical center’s pathology lab.”

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