News Release 7/14/2020: Game Plan for July-December 2020

Thank you for the energy and brain power you’ve invested in our collective efforts to stabilize and grow the South Toledo medical campus and UTMC Hospital.

Dr. Gregory Postel has taken the reins as the University of Toledo’s Interim President, and Al Baker has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Trustees. This is the appropriate time, I believe, to put on paper our vision and plan to support and enhance the campus and its hospital on Arlington Ave.

With great respect for the ideas and priorities of all invested in Save UTMC, we offer the following: 

1. We oppose any plan to sell, transfer, or co-manage UTMC to/with ProMedica, or any other hospital system, until all details of such a deal are made public, and time is provided for appropriate review and community input.

2. On July 1, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost halted transfers of physicians and programs from UTMC to ProMedica Toledo Hospital for 90 days. Based upon anti-competitive constrictions written into the 2015 Affiliation Agreement between UT and ProMedica, the ban on transfers should remain in place until all UTMC stakeholders’ concerns are addressed.

3. As for the Affiliation Agreement, we support the initiative of State Senator Teresa Fedor with AG Yost, and ask UT leadership to invoke arbitration if ongoing, anti-competitive decisions are not ended, and past harmful actions are not corrected. 

4. We request that negotiations between current UTMC management and Toledo Clinic officials be encouraged and supported by UT administration and trustees, and that doctors of both institutions be welcomed to practice at both campuses as respective services are needed. Initial discussions between UTMC and Toledo Clinic centered upon the Dana Cancer Center, but additional opportunities to address physician shortages at UTMC, due to forced transfer of doctors to ProMedica Toledo Hospital, must also be on the table;

5. Re-establish Level 2 trauma support status at UTMC as soon as possible, in conjunction with physician support from the Toledo Clinic Association.
   
   
6. Carefully scrutinize and minimize inter-departmental cross-charges imposed upon UTMC to the main Bancroft St. UT campus. According to the recent State audit, UTMC had an operational profit between 2016-2018. However, cross-charges caused an overall deficit, resulting in unsustainable financial strain on UTMC.
   
   
7. Take steps to sustain the financial solvency of the University of Toledo Physicians (UTP) Group as a source of physician activity at UTMC.
   
   
8. Support and market the COVID-19 test capacity of the UTMC Pathology Lab. Our research scientists developed a test that reliably provides results in 24-48 hours.
   
   
9. Marketing! Marketing! Marketing! LET’S GET WITH IT, UTMC!
   
   
10. The Neighborhood Health Association (NHA) is very interested in being on our South Toledo campus. UTMC management, the Toledo Clinic, and NHA are developing excellent plans to increase cancer care at the Dana Cancer Center. Encourage them!
    
    
11. We have major brand-name organizations in our immediate neighborhood: The Veterans Administration Clinic; The American Red Cross; the Area Office on Aging; the Ohio Mental Health Department— they should be encouraged to partner and expand within our Medical Center Campus. Dr. Michael Ellis of UTMC, and the Toledo Clinic, are developing resources so regional veterans may be treated at the Dana Center, instead of traveling to Ann Arbor. Save UTMC encourages and support these efforts.
    
    
12. Area labor organizations are supporting Save UTMC. Let’s encourage their families to find a home on our campus, and with our doctors and hospital.
    
    
13. Public Television is also adjacent to our campus. The last three months have introduced our national family to continuous discussions of not only Corona virus, but health and wellness in general. Let’s explore a professional relationship with WGTE Channel 30 – perhaps weekly talk programs, covering what is current, timely, and featuring interviews with doctors, nurses, and staff—all focused upon improving Toledoans health and wellbeing.

The Save UTMC Coalition is looking ahead, knowing full well that community partnerships and increased revenue is necessary to move the medical campus forward. We stand ready to work together with all concerned parties to SAVE UTMC!