Authority selects Mercy as No. 1 choice for MRMC - Eastword News - Midwest City, OK (http://eastwordnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=4701)
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Situation Recap

MWC city officials began questioning the quality of healthcare provided at Midwest Regional last year when patient and staff complaints were at an all-time high.

Around the same time, HMA started having financial problems and were facing allegations of Medicare billing fraud.

Talk of a buyout surfaced and before long, CHS became the new owner of HMA’s 70 hospitals, including MRMC.

The City started looking at their options months before CHS took over. In the lease agreement between the city and HMA, the Right of First Refusal would come into play if a new third party, like CHS, would ever take over operations of the hospital.

Last year, the city asked voters to grant access to up to $50 million of the compounded principal of the Hospital Authority’s funds. The voters approved the measure and the city proceeded in taking steps to find a new lessee of Midwest Regional. One step was to hire a consultant to help in the lessee selection process.

Hospital Authority members delivered their highly anticipated decision Tuesday on who they are going to pursue as their No. 1 choice as Midwest Regional Medical Center’s next lessee.

By a vote of 7-0, members named Mercy as their top choice and elected to pass on OU Health and Sciences Center and Community Health Systems, both of which had also responded to the Authority’s Request for Proposal notice to lease the hospital.

The Authority’s decision came after an hour long executive session. First up was the vote on whether or not the Authority was going to exercise their "Right of First Refusal." If passed, this would allow the Authority to terminate the hospital’s lease and reacquire possession of all the leased assets, the lease agreement between the Authority and Health Management Associates states.

The Authority voted 7-0 in favor of the "Right of First Refusal.”

In the second vote, members named Mercy their top preferred lessee option. Ward 4 Councilmember James Ray read the motion but with a change from what was originally listed on the meeting’s agenda. The Authority opted out of naming a second preferred candidate in the event the first candidate fails or refuses to enter into a lease.

After both votes, Mayor Jack Fry was the only member to address the matter.

"I'm recommending exercising the right as outlined in the 1996 agreement. Our objective of this effort is to change the culture and performance of the hospital. Our discussion with CHS, and the data, convinced us that CHS was not the best partner."

On Monday, Jan. 27, CHS became MRMC’s operator on Monday, Jan. 27, replacing HMA, after paying $7.6 billion for the hospital corporation.

Fry cited CHS’s unwillingness to commit to performance standards and pointed out that among the Oklahoma City metro hospital community, Deaconess, which CHS currently operates, was a weak performer.

"All other hospitals in the metropolitan area outperformed Midwest Regional," the mayor said.

Mayor Fry also explained the criteria city staff and the Authority considered identifying a new hospital partner. He said the evaluation was based on 1) quality care, 2) patient satisfaction, 3) investment in staff as measured by the percentage of revenue going to personnel, 4) revenue growth and 5) other financial measures.



Refusal details

To exercise the "First Right of Refusal," the lease agreement states that the Authority must put 5 percent of the purchase price of the hospital in an escrow account by Saturday, Feb. 8, Mayor Fry said.

As of presstime, city officials did not know what the 5 percent dollar amount would be as the final purchase still needs to be decided. City Attorney Kathy Bolles attributed this to the fact that another appraisal, in addition to the city's and HMA/CHS, was needed because the first two were "significantly different."

In the lease agreement, the group of three appraisers will determine by majority vote, the “Disposition Fair Market Value” of the hospital. The Authority and HMA/CHS will bear the costs and expenses of their own appraisers and will split the cost of the third.

The deadline has been set for this Monday, Feb. 3 for the third appraisal to be completed, Bolles told EastWord.

City officials also have set the closing date for the sale of the hospital for March 7, which is when the hospital’s operations will transfer to its new operator.

Look for more information in upcoming EastWord editions as it is available.
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Mercy already has a clinic in Midwest City that moved in back in 2011.
Here is an excerpt from Mercy's website about the clinic:
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Mercy is among only 4 percent of hospitals nationwide with an integrated electronic health record sophisticated enough to access and share medical records among multiple Mercy facilities in a four-state area. Serving more than 3 million people each year, connectivity between 29 hospitals and more than 200 outpatient facilities is critical.

In addition, MyMercy – a free online service – will give Midwest City patients the ability to check lab results, request appointments and prescription refills, and leave messages for their doctors – all from a computer or smartphone.

The surroundings and technology might be different, but the quality care patients have come to expect ... will remain unchanged.

Mercy Midwest City is located at 111 N. Post Road, Suite C. Clinic hours are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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If Mercy can do this with just a clinic, the possibilities could be endless for a hospital like MRMC.

I was expecting them to select Mercy because Mercy has the pockets to properly staff Midwest Regional and provide a first class level of service. The Hospital Authority best be ready to pony up some cash for renovations and upgrades. Last time I was in there, the place was dirty and many maintenance issues were present. I saw everything from wallpaper peeling, to burn out lights to old torn up furniture in the waiting areas. Granted Mercy will help finance the cost of that. (I know they did wonders with Parkview in El Reno) They will not do it alone, the hospital authority will need to help finance some if not all the upgrades and clean up the place.

I couldn't have asked for a better choice. Now I just hope that the plan sticks and than in a month from now, we'll still be on track for Mercy to take over.

Good riddance HMA! And thank goodness no CHS!!!!!

I was hoping this would happen! Now, let's start upgrading, using local help(me)!

has anyone heard anything on this? The date for having the 5% down payment in escrow has come and gone.

Mercy is in the process of reviewing everything in regards to the books and hospital operations. Basically doing the test drive, kicking the tires, etc. Initially CHS blocked Mercy and the city from entering the hospital however, the city took the matter to court and won. From what I understand from Eastword News that everything is looking good for Mercy to take over however, they could change there mind at the last minute. A final decision is due I think the first part of March. If nothing esle OU will take it or they might just have to begging at the doorstep of INTEGRIS or Saints to sign on. However, I don't think either want the facility without full or majority ownership of the facility. I don't think the Hospital Authority board is willing to do that.

I got a call yesterday from a polling firm who were asking a ton of questions about my opinion of the hospital(past and present) and who I would like to see take it over. I couldn't get a feel for who the poll was for and she couldn't say. Hopefully this thing gets done and the hospital can go back to what it used to be. As someone who works in EMS in this area, I can tell you that in the last decade or so, it's gone from being the "go to" hospital in this area to being the one nobody wants to be sent to.

I grew up with parents that worked there, family friends that worked there, I volunteered there...all when it was MCMH or MCRH. Now, I wouldn't take my dog there. Countless personal stories of friends with horror stories from the less-than-adequate doctors there now. The good ones all left because they couldn't put up with it anymore, and the ones they attract now, are sub-par. The staff is stretched so much, it's difficult for them to put their full attention on the patients.

It's as much an example of what's wrong with for-profit health care as there ever could be. When the city owned the place as non-profit, the dollars went right back into the patients and staff. The employees were part of a family. Like so many corporations, when the hospital was bought, the family divorced and the parents kept all the money and left the kids with the scraps under the table.

I just hope Mercy's new relationship doesn't turn south. Remember, they aren't an independent hospital anymore either......

oo

That didn't last long. Mercy is no longer an option

It's a shame that the city and Mercy couldn't come to an agreement. I think sooner or later the city is going to have to decide to either have a great hospital and dissolve the Hospital Authority. Or Have the Hospital Authority and have a mediocre hospital. Granted it will be ran better than HMA ran it but, not much. It will be ran just like Deaconess is ran. For profit hospitals are just not ran very well in this country.A healthcare facility should never be a for profit enterprise. It should be non profit, all money earned should go back into the facility for upgrades, employee pay and patient care. Profit to stock holders should never come before patient care. When profit is your focus you don't care about your employees, you don't care about the quality of your operation all that matters is that the facility makes money. At the end of the day if the hospital does not make money, the doors close and the people in the area stuck with having to find healthcare elsewhere and sometimes that's miles away in another city.

The only logical conclusion I can come to is that Community Health Systems promised the city they would dump money into the hospital and recruit better talent to the hospital. When Mercy, INTEGRIS, Saints and OU provide the best pay and benefits you are not going to hang on to the best people for very long. You are only going to get the lackluster employees from the competition and the new grads who are desperate to land work.

It's a shame that the city and Mercy couldn't come to an agreement. I think sooner or later the city is going to have to decide to either have a great hospital and dissolve the Hospital Authority. Or Have the Hospital Authority and have a mediocre hospital. Granted it will be ran better than HMA ran it but, not much. It will be ran just like Deaconess is ran. For profit hospitals are just not ran very well in this country.A healthcare facility should never be a for profit enterprise. It should be non profit, all money earned should go back into the facility for upgrades, employee pay and patient care. Profit to stock holders should never come before patient care. When profit is your focus you don't care about your employees, you don't care about the quality of your operation all that matters is that the facility makes money. At the end of the day if the hospital does not make money, the doors close and the people in the area stuck with having to find healthcare elsewhere and sometimes that's miles away in another city.

The only logical conclusion I can come to is that Community Health Systems promised the city they would dump money into the hospital and recruit better talent to the hospital. When Mercy, INTEGRIS, Saints and OU provide the best pay and benefits you are not going to hang on to the best people for very long. You are only going to get the lackluster employees from the competition and the new grads who are desperate to land work.

I wholeheartedly agree with you on the bolded part! It's frustrating as hell sometimes to watch the executives of HCA and OU Medical Center take home bonuses that are 5-6x some peoples' salaries, while many of the facilities need upgrades and people go without raises.

So did I miss something? Did the authority decide to let CHS have it? What a total screw up if that's the case. Big fat fail. Perhaps it's letter writing time everyone. Anyone know how to contact the authority to voice our disgust with this?

March 5 at 4:47pm
Midwest City - Office of the City Manager (Facebook Page)
The Memorial Hospital Authority (MHA) has rescinded its Right of First Refusal decision that it made last week. Under the Right of First Refusal, the HMA had offered Mercy Hospital the opportunity to manage Midwest Regional Medical Center, but, was unable to agree upon essential financial terms of a lease as they related to exercising the Right of First Refusal. Therefore, the hospital will be managed by Community Health Services, the largest private hospital group in the US. For the complete story, go to Home (http://www.midwestcityok.org) home page.


Posted on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 by Kay Hunt midwestcityok.org

Memorial Hospital Authority rescinds Right of First Refusal

The Midwest City Memorial Hospital Authority (MHA) met in a special meeting, which was recessed Monday night and ultimately concluded on Tuesday night, to consider rescinding the Right of First Refusal they exercised early last week with the current lessee of its hospital, Midwest Regional Medical Center.

Due to the Hospital Authority's inability to consummate an agreement with a successor lessee to take over operation of its hospital, they determined it wasn't prudent for them to pursue the Right of First Refusal under the 1996 lease.

The MHA Trustees had selected Mercy as the preferred candidate to lease the hospital but negotiations recently reached an impasse between the MHA and Mercy.

“Despite our best efforts, the Hospital Authority was unable to reach an agreement for Mercy to take over management of our hospital,” J. Guy Henson, City Manager, said. Henson stated that the Authority and Mercy were unable to agree upon essential financial terms of a lease as they related to exercising the Right of First Refusal.

“Our goal has always been to seek the best hospital care possible and reach an agreement with a lessee that would be in the best interest of our community and the Authority. Therefore, the Authority has agreed that HMA/CHS will continue to serve the community as the lessee and management company of our hospital under the existing lease agreement,” Henson said.

Henson further stated that the Authority initiated this process to ensure that Midwest City residents and all of the other patients of Midwest Regional Medical Center were provided with a high level of medical care. “As a result of these actions the hospital is now part of the largest private hospital system in the United States which means that this community can look forward to it investing its resources here,” Henson said.



March 7, 2014

Midwest City - Office of the City Manager (Reply to Previous Facebook Page post)
The city of Midwest City would like to thank all of you that have voiced interest and support of this very important issue that has faced our community for several months. As we stated in our recent press release, the Authority and Mercy were unable to agree upon essential financial terms of a lease as they related to exercising the Right of First Refusal. Therefore, a lease agreement with Mercy was impossible. Again, thank you for your interest!

So did I miss something? Did the authority decide to let CHS have it? What a total screw up if that's the case. Big fat fail. Perhaps it's letter writing time everyone. Anyone know how to contact the authority to voice our disgust with this?

Well Mercy agreed to a bloated building appraisal that included the money it would take to renovate the floors. Last week they were told they would need to pay the $27 million dollar loan that was outstanding for when the two upper floors were added to the tower. It's no surprise Mercy walked away.

It's a shame that we might go the way of Deaconess.

Bunch of bull****. It will go EXACTLLY the way Deaconess went. And we're left screwed over as pawns in this whole mess. The authority has failed its residents in every way possible. I'm severely disappointed in their inability to get this one done. They're trying to spin it as a good thing, but the staff from MRMC that went to Deaconess can tell you, it's not going to be any better.

And they can also be blamed for not allowing a second option with another vendor. All the eggs in one basket, and the basket broke. Not to mention that the entire finances should have been made clear from the beginning.

HMA built on to the facility, not because it needed it. But because it was a way to increase capital costs to fluff up the purchase price, and we got screwed over because of it....again.

So like we were at every step in the process after the hospital was sold, the community loses out. And the horror stories continue to flow (even this week) of people that are there with staff that doesn't listen and continue to make resident-level mistakes.

Pathetic

27MM?! No wonder the City Manager's Office wouldn't make any more of a statement other than saying Mercy backed out, it's because the city ****** this one up.

Let's see if Eastword prints the real story on this one, gets covered up or not mentioned at all.

27MM?! No wonder the City Manager's Office wouldn't make any more of a statement other than saying Mercy backed out, it's because the city ****** this one up.

Let's see if Eastword prints the real story on this one, gets covered up or not mentioned at all.

I got an email from Eastword the day Mercy walked out and short statement echo the thoughts of you guys.

You should the new Eastword direction. They are getting much more into multimedia and also have delivered subscription based paper that has more content than free one. They are going to start putting legal notices and such in the subscription based paper. It's like $25 a year but I think you can get for $10 right now

I'm well aware of the changes at Eastword and the legal notices are two years out.

My aim isn't at Eastword, it's towards the CMO, given the intel.

I'm well aware of the changes at Eastword and the legal notices are two years out.

My aim isn't at Eastword, it's towards the CMO, given the intel.

Sorry. Didn't mean to direct that you or change the subject

Well one point that shows how things have already gone downhill even more....

I spoke to a staff member yesterday and the employee benefits already decreased from what HMA offered, which was pretty sad. So how do we expect to be able to retain a quality staff if they aren't compensated properly? It's just the beginning of the end.

I actually fear for the viability of the place in another 10 years.

Damn shame - really had hopes up with Mercy.
After the nightmare I've gone through in past year thanks to MRMC, have no confidence in this hospital and have told my local doctors they better get privileges elsewhere if they want me as a patient.

The city really screwed this one up. The asking price was way too high. Mercy probably looked at the asking price and decided it would be more cost friendly to build a hospital from the ground up instead of leasing MRMC. I am sorry to say this but, MRMC will probably end up closing or being repurposed as something else.

Eastern Oklahoma County is growing and I willing to bet in 5-10 years there will be another hospital built in Midwest City or just due east of Midwest City. Saints will add a hospital tower or INTEGRIS or Mercy will build one. When it happens, MRMC will be history.

Well the Saints site was designed to be able to add a second tower similar to what's already there, should they choose to. It's location allows it to grow pretty easily as well. I guarantee that trailer park next door isn't going to fight being bought out if Saints ever wants to. There's a 14 acre parcel next door that is owned by an oil and gas co. in Tulsa. The next 4 acre plot over is zoned residential, but could easily be changed. Especially since there isn't anything on it.

The neighborhood immediately south of there is pretty quiet. I'm sure those residents wouldn't be too excited to have a full hospital on the other side of their fence, but to be honest, if Saints wanted to throw their finances around, they could probably buy out everything north of 36th, to I-40 and build a facility the size of MRMC if they wanted to. If they chose to do that, they could also probably afford to doze the existing structure since it's so simple. It's not exactly a fortress of a building. it's more of a physician building than anything. Access to I-40 is obviously so close, it's an ideal location....much better positioned to serve the community than MRMC is being at Reno/Midwest, which is NOT near an interstate and NOT central to it's service area...rather only to MWC. I'm not faulting them for it, it was built by the city 70 years ago exactly where it should have been for the times. Things have just changed over the years to be EOC rather than just MWC.

And being EOC, I could very easily see a swath of land further east being a prime location. Mercy's Heart Hospital also has room to expand....quite significantly should they choose to.

If MRMC were to shut down... the quality of life in Midwest City would surely tumble as emergency response for an already aging population in the city would become almost too much to handle and the city's reputation would also falter. Our only hope is that a second hospital would come in and replace MRMC to curb that. I don't believe it's no longer an "if" as it is now a "when" for the end of MRMC. Along with that also ends a lot of grants the city gives out as the interest on the trust for the hospital funds pay for most if not all of them.

If MRMC were to shut down... the quality of life in Midwest City would surely tumble as emergency response for an already aging population in the city would become almost too much to handle and the city's reputation would also falter. Our only hope is that a second hospital would come in and replace MRMC to curb that. I don't believe it's no longer an "if" as it is now a "when" for the end of MRMC. Along with that also ends a lot of grants the city gives out as the interest on the trust for the hospital funds pay for most if not all of them.

It will stay open for the foreseeable future. What I am referring to is that it will close if and when another competitor comes to town.

I spoke to some folks I know that worked at Deaconess at Bethany when it closed. Community Health more or less let the place go. Saints, INTEGRIS and Mercy toured the place as possible buyers but, each passed because of there was just many improvements that were needed. In the end nothing is going to change, it just one slum lord being bought out by another. Then again this is what happens when hospital systems have the demands of stockholders standing in the way of the people in the communities they serve. I would not be surprised if the Midwest City Hospital Authority walked away feeling like the previous board members sold the city's soul. Once you sell your soul, it's hard to get it back. Now they are stuck waiting it out until the lease expires or CHS shuts it down and walks away.

Well before we start trying to blame people in the past, lets not forget to put the blame in the present as well. That little failure to mention 27Million in debt was 100% on the present and tainted the negotiations.

The citizens are screwed, but as for me, I still wouldn't take my dog there. It's sad when the staff of the place tell you not to go there too.

Help me understand the 27MM part. I know it came from the 2 story addition to the tower of the hospital. Who totes that note? The authority, the city, or HMA? Could the Hospital Authority not put up the 5% and pay off the 27MM note? I know there is a lot of money in the trust, but i'm not sure how much.

Committee asks MWC voters to say yes to Prop 5 - Eastword News - Midwest City, OK (http://eastwordnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=4331)


Committee asks MWC voters to say yes to Prop 5
by Vicki Middleton


Midwest City residents who voted in the last two mayoral elections should have received a letter in the mail this week from the Citizens for a Better Midwest City committee.

The letter, supported by 15 community members, asked voters to approve five propositions the City of Midwest City has called for in the Tuesday, Oct. 8 election.

Co-chairmen former state Sen. Dave Herbert and former state Rep. Bill Case signed the letter. Other committee members listed included: Tom Blanton, Jack Fry, Pam Hall, Bobbie & Gene Howard, Jim Howell, Archie Huston Rella Johnson, Dara McGlamery, Bert Norton, Fred Quinn, Eddie Reed, Russell Smith, Pam Teply and Edea Young.

In the letter, the committee explained each of the five propositions, but went into the most detail about Proposition 5. This proposition asks permission for the Midwest City Memorial Hospital Authority to access up to $50 million from the Compounded Principal in the Authority’s account to negotiate a new hospital lease for Midwest Regional Medical Center.

The committee’s letter stated that Proposition 5’s approval will "not results in new or increased fees or taxes" and that the $50 million would be "withdrawn from the Authority’s current funds on hand."

Authority members have previously stated they only plan on using the funds to cover costs associated with the termination of the hospital’s existing lease agreement with Health Management Associates and to acquire a new lessee. In 1996, the Authority leased the hospital to HMA after operating the hospital themselves for 34 years (since 1962). That lease contract is set to expire in 2048.

Over the summer, MRMC and its parent company, HMA, came under scrutiny after concerns were expressed about the lack of quality medical care service and treatment of employees. Then a more broad development came about when HMA announced it was going to be acquired by another hospital corporation, Community Health Services.

Authority and city officials have stated that even in spite of HMA’s possible acquisition, they still wanted to press forward with the Oct. 8 election. If CHS acquires HMA, this would put MRMC with a new lessee, and stated in the two parties’ contract, the Authority must approve any new third-party, which in this case could be CHS.

On Wednesday, Midwest Regional CEO Damon Brown released the following statement in regard to the Oct. 8 election:

"Midwest Regional Medical Center will respect whatever decision voters make in the referendum.

"We are extremely proud of the high quality care provided to our patients by our 1200 Associates and 300 physicians. Last year we provided $102 million in uncompensated care along with $200,000 in community sponsorships. We are dedicated to advancing our mission of providing high-quality care for the community and to continually enhancing that care. No matter the outcome, MRMC will remain a vital part of this community."

Prop 5 Details

Mayor Jack Fry told the EastWord News that he hopes the Authority does not have to access any of the $50 million, but if they need to, they will only spend what they believe is absolutely necessary.

He explained that his understanding is that the HMA and CHS acquisition is most likely going to go through. The Federal Corporation Commission has already approved the deal and each of the company’s board of directors. The final piece, he said, is the approval of stockholders, which will take place in December.

Fry said the Authority can either decide to have CHS run the hospital or to have another entity do so. Anticipated costs associated with having a new lessee includes performing any maintenance that may need to be addressed before the new lessee takes residence, legal fees, appraisal of the hospital to know its value to be able to negotiate in good faith and to operate the hospital until a new lessee is approved, the mayor said.

"The perfect scenario would be to not have to spend any of this money, but we don’t know what’s going to happen so we need to be prepared," Fry said.

Other Oct. 8 propositions include the following: Propositions 1-3 propose changes to the city’s charter to make it consistent with state law and Oklahoma County Election Board requirements. Proposition 4 asks for salary increases for the mayor ($200 to $400 monthly) and councilmembers ($200 to $300 monthly).

In order to pass, all five propositions need a majority vote, Fry said.

Look for full election results in next week’s edition on Oct. 10 and also posts on election night on our website and Facebook page.

I guess this answers one of my questions, there is at least 50MM "on hand".

http://www.sai.ok.gov/olps/uploads/city_of_midwest_city_63013_nupl.pdf

Here is a link to the financial audit filed in February of this year.

http://midwestcityok.org/Websites/MWC/files/Content/2002698/2013-2014_Budget_Book.pdf

And a link to the 2013-2014 Budget.

Well before we start trying to blame people in the past, lets not forget to put the blame in the present as well. That little failure to mention 27Million in debt was 100% on the present and tainted the negotiations.

The citizens are screwed, but as for me, I still wouldn't take my dog there. It's sad when the staff of the place tell you not to go there too.

I am not blaming anyone from the past. In fact, when you sell your soul you do not realize it until it's too late just simply because the deal just sounded so good, you just could not pass it up.

Well if we thought it was bad with HMA, just wait. CHS will show (as they have with Deaconness) how properly placed they are to kill a great facility. MRMC was already at the bottom of the pile, so at least it doesn't have far to fall.

And this is what happens when a hospital converts from non-profit to for-profit. Oh goodie.

How can we convert back to a non-profit?

How can we convert back to a non-profit?

A non profit like Mercy, Saints or INTEGRIS would have to buy it or manage it. The city already used their nuclear option so we are just kind of stuck with the situation now. I was at Southwest Medical Center ER Waiting Room the other night with my brother. Del City Police were bringing in a prisoner for medical clearance for jail. I found it rather interesting because MRMC is much closer.

Well... since the city would not "bail out" the hospital with the Hospital Authority funds available, some 72MM from what I see in the budget, we are stuck with this option instead of paying off the loan, taking back the hospital under city control ( I understand there may be some added cost not budgeted for and maybe some minor upgrade costs, and that the Authority's funds are "restricted" but if we as a city can vote to make up to 50MM available in a special election, i'm sure we could have voted on this too ) to then have all the time the city would need to then find a proper group to lease the hospital to and recover those funds over a period of time. But.. most of the council won't be around to see the end of this lease in 2048 (that's 34 years from now, i'll be 61) and I know i'll be close to the end to at that time.

The city wanted out of the hospital business in the first place, so don't count of them coming to the rescue, They sold our soul to the devil in the first place.

Mercy isn't technically non-profit now that it's owned by a third-party. It wasn't well advertised (for obvious reasons), but they changed the logo at the time of the sale.

Integris is a foundation, so they're a bit odd in the local arena. Saints is really the only true independent group in the traditional model. Their local in midtown is really what's allowed them to stay at the top. They had cheap land for so long and they stuck it out as the neighborhood around them collapsed. But they stayed long enough for MidTown to come back, and the city to incentivize their staying there. Had they been, say on the NW side, I'm not sure they would have had the same success.

Deaconness was a good example how to do things right.....but then they fell too.

I'm not sure if Norman is independent now or not....anyone?

I believe Norman was a city hospital like Midwest City however, it is now private. They were on the verge of folding or selling out however, the tornado turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Moore Hospital was leasing everything down to the toilet paper dispensers and it was strangling Norman Regional as a whole. The tornado allowed them to break the leases and walk away with a new life.

Lets hope it doesn't have to come down to a tornado to fix MRMC.

Something tells me the Affordable Care Act will keep this place going. After all, the cut rate insurance companies are going to need a place send their customers.

The news isn't good folks. So far CHS has done exactly what we all knew would happen, but apparently the authority was too short-sighted to acknowledge.

The Joint Commission failed its first round and is in the second. If they fail this, they will lose certification!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The staff tree has been so muddled up, it's like someone put all the employee's names in a bingo hopper and picked roles for them.
Lay-Offs are coming after the current round of the commission....guarantee it.
Patient count is EXTREMELY low. After the expansion, the place became a 200 bed facility. It's going rate of occupation is at 50%!!!!!!!!! I still say that the construction was simply a way for HMA to add capital to the building...fluff it up so it's worth more before they sold it. They knew what they were doing and they knew MRMC couldn't support it.

So like we've seen ever since MWC leased out the place, the slow death of the hospital seems inevitable. And the authority let us all down...and they knew what they were doing, which makes it even more detestable. Once again, a crappy management team is going to squander any chance of bringing the place back to life all for the sake of profit. I'm wondering if the place is going to be able to make it at all. Will we see a bankruptcy type state of the facility? So the facility itself wont go "bankrupt" but it could bleed money from CHS so hard that they sever the limb to save the body. I actually think that might be the best hope for the place. Let someone come in and buy it up so they can help bring it back....please Mercy, Norman, or Saints!!!!! If they don't do that, we'll see places like the Saint East location expand and simply absorb the patient load letting MRMC die a slow painful death.

The #1 thing they need to do is rebuild staff from the ground up with GOOD people and GOOD doctors. Not the parade of idiot doctors they have there now. I swear they can't diagnose their way out of a paper bag. #2 is acknowledge to the community that they sucked. #3 present to the community how they are going to help bring things back without making profit be the #1 driving force. A loss of some profit now can be the savior in the future.

And then CHS gets hacked and 4.5 million records are potentially stolen with absolutely no information available from CHS on determining IF they were stolen or what they are going to do about it.
Hospital network hacked, 4.5 million records stolen; Oklahoma hospitals at risk | KFOR.com (http://kfor.com/2014/08/18/hospital-network-hacked-4-5-million-records-stolen-oklahoma-hospitals-at-risk/)

I wish the residents of MWC could vote to fire CHS. Heck, with the way things have been going since the sale, maybe they'll have to file for bankruptcy and toss some of the debt so someone that doesn't suck can take over the management of the place.

Eddie Reed said on Facebook that MRMC was not hacked even though the news has reported that MRMC is one that was in fact hacked... so my information is out there.. lol good luck with that.

Well I would think that they probably weren't the more that I think about it. Not because MRMC does such a great job of things, but because they're too new to CHS to have integrated to any degree with the HQ network. So it probably actually saved MRMC employees/patients the hassle. From what I've read, it was an exploit of the SSL Heartbleed bug. So on one hand, it something that the whole world had to deal with quickly, but on the other hand, obviously they didn't get it corrected quickly enough.

The Heartbleed bug was an exploit that happened awhile ago.

Because I do websites and webdesign I keep up to date and current with threats via email alerts when something comes out. Only 1 of our clients were affected and we took the server offline until we could install the patch for OpenSSL. If their IT guys were not capable of know this information and correcting the issue when it happened several months ago, then they all need to be fired. This was a very serious exploit and to not correct it is compromising all that data and is legally negligent.

Agreed mmonroe. I didn't read when the actually detected the leak. It could have been that they just now figured it out or they just now admitted it. CHS=HMA=CRAP