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Leaders say physician-owned facility planned for northern Summit will jeopardize nonprofit medicine
By Cheryl Powell
Beacon Journal medical writer
Published on Wednesday, Aug 27, 2008
Leaders of Akron General Medical Center are coming out publicly against plans for a for-profit, physician-owned hospital in northern Summit County, which they say could threaten the future of nonprofit medical care in the Akron area.
A group of Akron General department chairs recently launched a campaign against a 100-bed, for-profit hospital that physician investors want to build in the county's affluent northern tier in partnership with General's cross-town rival, Summa Health System.
The 15 department chairs from Akron General are speaking out against the project and taking out full-page newspaper ads with bold, all-capital letters asking: ''Should money drive medicine?''
The Akron General doctors argue that the physician-owned hospital off state Route 8 near Seasons Road, first announced in January, will attract affluent, well-insured patients with less-complicated cases, leaving Akron's nonprofit hospitals stuck caring for uninsured patients and those with costly, complex problems.
Akron General Medical Center's board will talk about the potential threat and what actions to take when it meets today, Akron General President and Chief Executive Alan Bleyer said. Another board that oversees Akron General Health System, which includes AGMC, has a regularly scheduled meeting Thursday.
''We need to have paying patients to continue serving all who walk through the doors and offset some of the losses that we incur from those who are uninsured and indigent,'' Bleyer
said. ''That balance clearly is in jeopardy.''
The Ohio Hospital Association raises similar concerns in its position statement on the topic.
Plans for the new hospital are being spearheaded by a group called Western Reserve Hospital Partners, a venture among primary-care doctors and specialists from throughout Summit County who want to launch a majority physician-owned, ''patient-centered'' facility.
A new Web site — http://www.northernsummithospital.org — touts the attributes of the proposed hospital to potential physician investors. Along with typical hospital services, such as a 24-hour emergency room, the new facility will offer ''upscale concierge services,'' spa packages, walking trails, a fitness center and an onsite gourmet restaurant.
Summa is the largest employer in Summit County and Akron General is No. 3.
Near AGMC facility
The proposed hospital would be near Akron General's wellness center, outpatient center and 24-hour emergency room off state Route 8 in Stow.
So far, more than 85 doctors have agreed to buy into the project, said Dr. Robert Kent, president of the group. He expects about 120 physician owner doctors in the facility by the time the deal is completed in late September.
''This will be a full-service community hospital,'' Kent said. ''It's not going to just cherry-pick. It's going to be what's best for the community. People want their health care in the community that they live in.''
Opponents of the project question whether the region needs a new hospital.
Cuyahoga Falls General, the closest hospital to the proposed project, averages 44 inpatients daily, according to Summa. The hospital is licensed by the state to operate as many as 272 beds, but like hospitals today, it staffs much fewer than that.
With only 16 percent of the licensed beds at Falls General filled by patients on an average day and several other Summit County hospitals averaging less than 50 percent occupancy, critics question why there's a need to build another hospital to serve the region.
''Why are we building new buildings when we have empty facilities that are operating at a financial disadvantage?'' asked Dr. J. Joseph Payton, a private-practice doctor who chairs Akron General's department of family medicine. ''Why build another hospital?''
Untapped market
The doctors and Summa want to build in northern Summit County because it's an untapped market, Kent said. The argument is that many residents from these communities leave Summit County and head north to Cleveland hospitals for care.
''We're growing the market for Akron,'' he said. ''There's a need in that area to be able to provide care. If we don't do it, I can guarantee University Hospitals or the Cleveland Clinic will do it.''
Residents of northern Summit and southern Cuyahoga counties must travel to Cuyahoga Falls or Bedford to get to the nearest community hospital, said Thomas J. Strauss, Summa's president and chief executive.
''We really feel strongly that in this northern region . . . there is not the level of [medical] support that is needed,'' Strauss said. ''We think it's critical for the care of the community.''
The new center would have the same charity care policies that nonprofit Summa has at all its other hospitals to care for all patients, Strauss said.
But in their advertisements, the Akron General doctors allege that doctors who invest in the proposed new hospital will be financially swayed to send patients to that facility.
Quality-based choice
''There are some greedy doctors out there, and this is exactly what this is about,'' said Dr. Tim Stover, Akron General's vice president of medical affairs. ''I think patients should have a choice, and they should have a choice based on real quality factors, not based on the fact that my doc is going to get some type of financial return based on sending me someplace.''
Kent strongly denied allegations that he and the other investing doctors will be motivated by profits when deciding where to send patients.
''That's ridiculous,'' he said. ''Doctors don't do that. As physicians, the first thing truly is to take care of patients, period.''
But ultimately, Bleyer said, Akron General wants business and community leaders to begin raising questions about whether to support the project.
''In order for us to maintain our ability to stay alive, we have got to make sure people understand there is another side to this,'' Stover agreed. ''It's a threat to the safety net that Akron General offers, there's no question about that.''
As it stands now, the new hospital likely will get tax support from Summit County and the communities of Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson and Stow, which are partnering to try to land the full-service hospital at state Route 8 and Seasons Road.
The communities will make their pitch to the state for $5 million to support the project during a meeting next month in Columbus, said Susan L. Truby, director of development for Cuyahoga Falls, which is taking the lead on the state grant application.
Western Reserve Hospital Partners has said that the new hospital probably would employ more than 600 and generate annual revenue of $150 million to $200 million.
In addition, the $100 million hospital is expected to spawn another $138 million in related development in the area and more than 700 additional jobs, Truby said.
''It's a great project,'' she said. ''We fully support it. We certainly want the residents of northern Summit County to have the best health care available.''
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or chpowell@thebeaconjournal.com.
Leaders of Akron General Medical Center are coming out publicly against plans for a for-profit, physician-owned hospital in northern Summit County, which they say could threaten the future of nonprofit medical care in the Akron area.
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