It should give Grand Rapids residents cold shivers that the chair of Spectrum is Julie Fream, who was vice chair of Beaumont when Fox destroyed the hospital system's once nationally vaunted reputation. Reach Eric Starkman at: eric@starkmanapproved.com. Spectrum was targeting a $156 million operating profit. The courage it took for Freed to write and post a letter questioning the judgment of Spectrums board and reminding them of their fiduciary responsibilities cannot be emphasized enough. Beaumont Health CEO John Fox, the Atlanta carpetbagger who destroyed the companys flagship Royal Oak hospital while pocketing more than $20 million for himself, appears close to pulling off what he set out to do from the moment he arrived in Metro Detroit six years ago: Merging southeastern Michigans biggest hospital network out of existence. 'The Week That Was:' Will Kristina Karamo Seriously Damage Michigan's Republican Party? The American Hospital Association (AHA), the trade group focused on promoting the financial interests of nonprofit hospitals and their managements, is a major lobbying force in Washington. Far from it. Henry Ford in Detroit in years past enjoyed an A safety rating. The combined Spectrum and Beaumont operations will temporarily be called BHSH System. Beaumonts orthopedic surgeons, ranked among the best in the country, are doing their lucrative joint replacement surgeries at area ambulatory centers. As of this writing, Freeds letter received 40 likes and other shows of support, and not a single criticism. He said the expansion would involve a lot of local planning in terms of where these bed towers are located, which seemingly indicates that Beaumont is planning to expand its real estate footprint. Getting more Americans vaccinated is widely believed the ticket to saving lives and preventing hospitals from being overrun with Covid patients at deaths door. Spectrum and Beaumont are technically merging because the board of the combined companies will have near equal representation and Beaumont chair Julie Fream will serve as chair of the BHSH. How Absurd. In its announcement to employees, Beaumont said the merged company will maintain dual headquarters in Southfield and Grand Rapids, an economically inefficient move if true but it likely isnt. I dont know how we could handle a catastrophe, said a source at Royal Oaks ER. Reach Eric Starkman at: eric@starkmanapproved.com. Also fostering ill will is Beaumonts mandate requiring that all employees be vaccinated or be fired. By Eric Starkman Beaumont Health CEO John Fox has no shame. The merger rationale was that hospitals benefitted from getting bigger and achieving economies of scale. These contracted doctors also were responsible for setting up a Covid-19 ICU unit at Beaumont Troy. Allowing them to continue profiting from their mismanagement would undermine Spectrum managements credibility from the get-go. Share. Starkman: America's Mistakenly Entitled Restaurant Workers February 08, 2023, 12:24 PM - Starkman Approved 'The Week That Was:' Why Police Have Groups Like the 'Scorpion Unit' February 03,. Beaumont employees and vendors are encouraged to reach out, with confidentiality assured. How Absurd. Beaumont CFO John Kerndl Resigns, Beaumont Nurse Anesthetists Union Drive Could Save Imploding Hospital from Further Demise, Layoffs. Reach the writer ateric@starkmanapproved.com. That leaves the hospital with just two cardiothoracic surgeons, down from nine years ago. To support Deadline Detroit's independent. Starkman: Beware! With regards to healthcare, Nessel is a do-nothing attorney general who has stood idly by as Fox drove Beaumont into the ground and is expected to rubber stamp Spectrums takeover. Starkman: Electric Vehicles and the Exploitation of Michigan Taxpayers. The merger talking points for Beaumonts leaders includes a commitment to improve health equity. This from a healthcare company that at the height of the Michigan pandemic last yeartemporarilyclosed Beaumont Wayne, a hospital catering to economically disadvantaged individuals with little or no insurance. Giving some of them oversight over a considerably bigger hospital system is reckless and irresponsible. By Eric Starkman John Fox, the Atlanta carpetbagger who washed up on the shores of southeastern Michigan seven years ago to bolster Beaumont Health's profits and gussy up Metro Detroit's. Fox, who has already been paid more than $20 million in compensation since joining Beaumont in 2016, potentially stands to earn tens of millions more if regulators approve Spectrums takeover. Disgruntled Staff. Copyrightdocument.write(new Date().getFullYear());Deadline Detroit, Inc. - All Rights Reserved, Starkman: Why Tree Huggers Must Save This Small Town in Michigan From Ford, 'Detroit In Black And White:' Why We Got Kicked Off 910 AM, Randy Wimbley Leaving Fox 2 After a Decade on the Air. Gretchen Whitmer. Even more disconcerting: Beaumont chairwoman Julie Fream will serve as chairwoman if the companies merge. Merging with Beaumont would more than double Spectrums size in some areas. Thats right, CFO Matthew Cox referred to Beaumont as an acquisition, not a merger as Freese Decker and Fox led the media to believe. Beaumonts John Fox Is Laughing All the Way to the Bank, Beaumont Nurse Anesthetists Move to Unionize to Combat 'Unsafe' Staffing Conditions, Avoid Beaumont Like the Plague,' Warns Podiatrist Who Underwent an Endoscopy at Royal Oak Hospital, Metro Detroit Mourns Passing of 'Gentle Soul' Richard Curbelo, Medical Examiner Conducted Autopsy of Beaumont Colonoscopy Patient After Concern Raised, Remembering Richard Curbelo Who Died Undergoing Beaumont Colonoscopy, Beaumont Hospital Staffers Horrified After Patient Dies During Routine Colonoscopy, Ostriches On Beaumont Health's Board Belong at the Detroit Zoo, Henry Ford's Wright Lassiter Puts Beaumont's John Fox to Shame, Beaumont's Demise Assured as Board Ignores Calls for CEO's Firing, Prominent Beaumont Cardiologist Calls Out CEO John Fox for Deception, AG Nessel Reaffirms She's Do Nothing Dana' on Healthcare. This columnist, a Los Angeles freelancer, is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs atStarkman Approved. That's bad news for Metro Detroit's biggest hospital . Those warnings are what led Congress to approve the financial largesse that Beaumont and other hospitals benefited from. We are incredibly excited about the impact the BHSH Beaumont Health Nurse Scholar program will have in health care and for our communities.. Consultants are part of the . Most of Foxs senior management team has departed, and hes expected to leave once the takeover is completed and he receives the millions of dollars likely owed to him under his golden parachute agreement. Less readily understood is why Spectrum would want to do a deal. She never followed up with a comment. Freed notes that Beaumont claims to have 300 days of cash on hand but doesnt have a top-tier bond rating allowing it to borrow money at the best rates. Bloomberg on Wednesday posted an editorial warning about the growing merger trend among hospitals, noting that it leads to higher insurance prices. Fox and Geary have referred to the Spectrum transaction as a merger and a partnership. Fox has disclosed that he will depart once the deal is completed, and Id be surprised if Grant and Jordan plan to stick around. Add in a staffing shortage, and you have a perfect storm," Fox said in a news release, urging Detroit-area residents to avoid Beaumont emergency rooms for all but critical care treatments. In April 2020, at the height of Michigan's pandemic, Metro Detroit's biggest hospital system called Beaumont Health without explanation closed its facility designated to treat Covid patients . A hospital CEO committed to the best interests of their organization and the communities it services would typically demand a premium of one times the annual revenue, meaning Spectrum should pay nearly $5 billion to take over Beaumont. 'The Week That Was:' Will Kristina Karamo Seriously Damage Michigan's Republican Party? Lina Khan of the Federal Trade Commission, Hospital prices in southeastern Michigan are among the lowest in the country, so one would have to be incredibly nave to believe Spectrums claim that its takeover will lead to more affordable care. As one source commented: Why doesnt the board just give Fox $25 million to go away?. Spectrums board is certainly a lot tougher on compensation. 'The Week That Was:' Will Kristina Karamo Seriously Damage Michigan's Republican Party? Fox, who owns homes in Atlanta and North Carolina, cant be bothered to even create the appearance that he cares about Beaumonts future. I can suspect what the problem is but, without transparency, I cant know.. Its not unusual for a so-called charge or supervisory ICU nurse to have just one year of experience. That wasnt entirely true. However, Beaumont Royal Oak is one of the busiest surgical centers in the country. Indiana University Health has 16 hospitals and 36,000 employees. The Detroit Free Press quotedSpectrum's Freese Decker as saying, Today is a historic day. Its one of the rare instances where shes made a statement of undeniable truth. Gretchen Whitmer has paid lip service that shes committed to so-called healthcare equity, meaning that Blacks receive access to the same quality of care as whites. Six months into Freese Deckers acquisition of Beaumont Health from former controversial CEO John Fox, metro Detroits biggest hospital system is suffering from a pandemic of red ink. He also noted that Beaumont received Medicare advances of $505 million in 2020 that needs to be returned this year. Combining Spectrum with Beaumont would be akin to Target, whose management is respected and its brand has a loyal following, merging with Macys, a troubled chain whose flagship store in midtown Manhattan has lost its luster much like Beaumont Royal Oak. Many organizations are not interested in real change, Chris Metzler, the former associate dean for human resources and diversity studies at Georgetown University, told NBC News. Inexperienced nurses Given that a survey of Beaumont doctors revealed last year they had no confidence in Fox, Wilson, and chief medical officer David Wood Jr., recruiting top quality executives to Beaumont is a near impossible challenge with Fox and Wilson at the helm. Beaumont derailed the effort after spending nearly $2 million on union busters, furthering ill will among its nurses. Meet Michael Freed, decidedly among the bravest persons in . Share. Spectrum was projecting a loss of $57.1 million, which also is an eye-opening surprise. The promised dual headquarters was also BS. to Michigan Tweet. Craig's guest is Eric Starkman, Deadline Detroit contributor and author of the blog Starkman Approved. Beaumont Dearborn also is receiving military assistance to help the hospital manage its Covid patient load. In Dearborn, the nursing shortage is so acute that an ICU operates at 60 percent capacity. Beaumonts John Fox Is Laughing All the Way to the Bank, Beaumont Nurse Anesthetists Move to Unionize to Combat 'Unsafe' Staffing Conditions, Avoid Beaumont Like the Plague,' Warns Podiatrist Who Underwent an Endoscopy at Royal Oak Hospital, Metro Detroit Mourns Passing of 'Gentle Soul' Richard Curbelo, Medical Examiner Conducted Autopsy of Beaumont Colonoscopy Patient After Concern Raised, Remembering Richard Curbelo Who Died Undergoing Beaumont Colonoscopy, Beaumont Hospital Staffers Horrified After Patient Dies During Routine Colonoscopy, Ostriches On Beaumont Health's Board Belong at the Detroit Zoo, Henry Ford's Wright Lassiter Puts Beaumont's John Fox to Shame, Beaumont's Demise Assured as Board Ignores Calls for CEO's Firing, Prominent Beaumont Cardiologist Calls Out CEO John Fox for Deception, AG Nessel Reaffirms She's Do Nothing Dana' on Healthcare. The writer, a Los Angeles freelancer, is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs at Starkman Approved. That Fox, who along with Wilson has shown they have no commitment to southeastern Michigan, was allowed to negotiate Beaumonts fate underscores just what an irresponsible disgrace Beaumonts board is. The silence is understandable. Reach Eric Starkman at: eric@starkmanapproved.com. Newsweek Ranks 3 Beaumont Hospitals Among Best in U.S. One Down, Three to Go. Beaumonts Fox doesnt take pride in the directors he is supposedly accountable to, possibly because he regards them as his subordinates. Disparities in healthcare are typically blamed on racism of U.S. doctors and other health professionals. He previously concluded a deal with Akron-based Summa Health but backed out despite already having received regulatory approval. Spectrum reported that Beaumont's operations already have racked up nearly $100 million in losses. Fox owns homes in Atlanta and North Carolina, Wilsons primary home is in Grand Rapids, Jordan, Beaumonts chief counsel, commutes from Atlanta, as does Susan Grant, the companys chief nursing officer. His chief marketing officer resigned last September, his CFO quit in March, his chief compliance officer left a few weeks ago, and his chief revenue officer is out the door in a few days. That would mean it will take at least five years for Spectrums nurse program to bear fruit, so it wont do anything to alleviate the current nursing shortage. That resulted in Beaumont staff nurses working alongside nurses getting paid considerably more money doing the same job, prompting more staff nurses to leave. Starkman: Electric Vehicles and the Exploitation of Michigan Taxpayers. Ive been looking for the past week and have not located them. Whats notable about Foxs disclosure is the seeming priorities of Spectrum compared to Advocate Aurora, the Chicago-based hospital system that Fox tried to give Beaumont away to in June 2020 under terms so obscenely favorable to Advocate Aurora, he couldnt pull it off. I imagine Fox is luxuriating at one of his Atlanta or North Carolina manors laughing hysterically at the Michigan executive yahoo who took Beaumont off his hands and no doubt paid him millions as part of the deal. Beaumonts flagship Royal Oak hospital only garnered a four-star rating and its other hospitals earned two-and three-star ratings. Copyrightdocument.write(new Date().getFullYear());Deadline Detroit, Inc. - All Rights Reserved, Michael Freed doesn't "see any value in this merger. Susick fired Royal Oaks highly regarded and very much beloved head of pediatrics after he protested budget cuts that he argued would harm patient care. Beaumont reported operating revenues of $4.6 billion in 2020 and is only an eight-hospital system. A responsible board would have fired Fox months ago and brought in an interim CEO with strong ties to southeastern Michigan to try and stabilize the place. Spectrumissued a statement to MiBizabout the disastrous financials reminiscent of the spin Fox served up during his seven-year tenure. Fox has a change of control clause in his contract, meaning he will likely receive a lucrative exit package. Despite these challenges, our team members continued to provide nationally recognized health care and we were able to make new investments in the market and bring on new talent, Spectrum said. Even Beaumont employees suffering from myopia can read this writing . Hiring nurses for Henry Fords flagship Detroit hospital is a more formidable challenge because some candidates fear working in Detroit. Lewis resigned as chair just prior to Fox announcing Spectrums takeover and left the board in December. Eric Starkman of Los Angeles is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs at Starkman Approved. About a half dozen of Freams former board cronies also serve on the Spectrum board, once entirely controlled by Grand Rapids and western Michigan-based residents. In his video, Fox disclosed that none of the monies for the planned expansion are being diverted from funds to deal with Beaumonts chronic staff shortages that have forced the closing of wards because there isnt sufficient medical staff to cover them. (Deadline Detroit art work ), Starkman: Why Tree Huggers Must Save This Small Town in Michigan From Ford, 'Detroit In Black And White:' Why We Got Kicked Off 910 AM, Randy Wimbley Leaving Fox 2 After a Decade on the Air. Starkman: Prominent Beaumont Cardiologist Calls for Ouster of Corporate Leaders, The Beaumont Health Superheroes Who Spoke Truth to Power, The Discredited PR Spin of Beaumont Health CEO John Fox, Beaumont and Advocate Aurora End Merger Discussions, Prominent Beaumont Donor Calls for Firing of CEO John Fox and His Key Executives, Starkman: Why Tree Huggers Must Save This Small Town in Michigan From Ford, 'Detroit In Black And White:' Why We Got Kicked Off 910 AM, Randy Wimbley Leaving Fox 2 After a Decade on the Air. Freed was CFO of Grand Rapids-based Spectrum Health for nearly 19 years, and later headed the hospital companys lucrative Priority Health insurance arm for six years. Beaumont employees and vendors are encouraged to reach out, with confidentiality assured. He's even willing to. Spectrum also experienced considerable turnover of Black employees, some of whom considered filing a class action lawsuit . The writer, a Los Angeles freelancer, is a former Detroit News business reporter who . The merger could still fall apart if Spectrum has a top-notch duediligence team. Spectrumreportedthat Beaumonts operations already have racked up nearly $100 million in losses. Beaumont at one point claimed to have 38,000 employees, but with layoffs and unfilled positions its not clear how many employees remain. Reach Eric Starkman at: eric@starkmanapproved.com. And there is no mention of what, if any, role Beaumont COO Carolyn Wilson will play after the merger. Beaumont spokesman Mark Geary ignored a request for comment, which he typically does. Beaumont institutionally has a very tenuous relationship with truth. By Eric Starkman. Starkman: Beaumont's FU to Metro Detroit and its Covid-19 Workers Tweet. At Beaumont's Royal Oak, Troy, and Grosse Pointe hospitals an elite team of more than 70 anesthesiologists trained and experienced with intubation performed all the procedures. Corewell Health has appointed Dr. Daniel Carey as the new president for its Beaumont Hospital campus in Royal Oak. A Zoom video conference call that was leaked this week among physicians and the marketing director of a North Carolina hospital involved a discussion on how to manipulate Covid patient stats to make them more scary to the public. Henry Ford also said the unvaccinated were exacerbating its staff shortages. My sense about Spectrum is that if doctors had serious patient safety concerns and felt the need to circumvent management to get them addressed, the hospital companys board would take the matter quite seriously. If this is a signal of what to expect if Grand Rapids-based Spectrum Health is allowed to rescue Beaumont Health from further decline, maybe the takeover isnt quite as ill-advised as I thought. Hospital prices in southeastern Michigan are among the lowest in the country, so one would have to be incredibly nave to believe Spectrums claim that its takeover will lead to more affordable care. Beaumont employees and vendors are encouraged to reach out, with confidentiality assured. Reach Eric Starkman at eric@starkmanapproved.com . Have you tried to find Beaumont Healths financial statements? Freed asks. Support our reporting and commentary by becoming a Deadline Detroit member for as little as $3 per month. Among the benefits of the deal Fox trumpeted was a $1 billion commitment to move the William Beaumont School of Medicine from Oakland University to Beaumonts flagship Royal Oak campus and a significant increase in technology spending. The nursing shortage in our state is a critical and complex challenge that must be solved with bold and collaborative solutions, the Detroit Free Press quoted Freese Decker as saying. Fox didnt disclose how much Beaumont will spend to fund its real estate expansion. The writer, a Los Angeles freelancer, is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs atStarkman Approved. Other state attorney generals have also shown a willingness to take on the powerful interests of U.S. hospital companies. Nurses employed by staffing agencies are paid more than staff nurses performing the same functions. Yet the, Nessels do nothing stance on healthcare matters is in sharp contrast to her Massachusetts counterpart Maura Healey, who has moved to block the expansion of Massachusetts General Brigham on the grounds it will lead to, Former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra won a $575 million landmark settlement against Sutter Health for using the market dominance it obtained through a series of mergers to illegally drive-up prices. BHSH will be the biggest hospital network in Michigan and the states biggest employer. Copyrightdocument.write(new Date().getFullYear());Deadline Detroit, Inc. - All Rights Reserved. Seven Failed Beaumont Directors Will Serve on Board If Spectrum Merger Gets Approval, Beaumont CEO John Foxs Final FU to Detroit: Merger with Spectrum Health, Beaumont Health Chair John Lewis -- Champion of CEO John Fox -- Stepping Down in June, Beaumont Manager Moved to Sabotage Anesthetists Concerns About Critical Drug Pump Shortage, Beaumonts John Fox Set to Unload Historic Bloomfield Hills Estate, Beaumont Nurse Anesthetists at Royal Oak, Troy and Grosse Pointe Vote Overwhelmingly to Unionize, Beaumont Forces Suspension of Leader of Nurse Anesthetist Union Drive, Starkman: Why Tree Huggers Must Save This Small Town in Michigan From Ford, 'Detroit In Black And White:' Why We Got Kicked Off 910 AM, Randy Wimbley Leaving Fox 2 After a Decade on the Air. Beaumont Royal Oak is a Level I regional hospital, which according to the American Trauma Society means it is required to have 24/7 staffing available to provide total care for every aspect of injury from prevention through rehabilitation. Board chair Fream, who holds a Harvard MBA, told The Detroit News that Beaumont's board used an "independent consultant" to determine Fox's compensation. To support Deadline Detroit's independent. In a major blow to the hospital, Reza Dabir, Dearborns top cardiothoracic surgeon, resigned to join Ascension Health. Beaumont employees and vendors are encouraged to reach out, with confidentiality assured. Yet neither Whitmer or Nessel demanded any diversity or health equity commitments from Spectrum as a condition of its takeover. Underscoring Beaumonts disregard for transparency, the company routinely waits till the very last day before filing its Form 990, a document nonprofits are required to make public revealing compensation and other critical information. Even if the executive couldnt restore Beaumont to its former glory, he or she could at least have minimized the damage and fetched a higher price for the hospital network than whatever Fox has negotiated. Freed might want to reach out to Mark Shaevsky, a prominent southeastern Michigan attorney and a former Beaumont board member before it merged with two lesser hospital companies in 2014. This is a good time to give a shoutout to former Beaumont chair John Lewis, who at the end of the day bears the greatest responsibility for the hospital systems decline. Under Freese Deckers leadership, Spectrum experienced considerable turnover of its Black employees, some of whom approached an attorney to explore whether they had cause to file a discrimination lawsuit. Fox disclosed that Beaumont has extensively expanded its use of nurse staffing agencies, which could exacerbate already poor morale among its nurses. The only remaining senior management executives are Grant, the chief nursing officer, and Jane Jordan, the chief lawyer, who like Grant and CEO Fox, has her primary home in Atlanta. Fox trumpeted the deal as a win for Southeastern Michigan because he said Advocate Aurora would invest $1 billion to move the William Beaumont Medical School in Rochester to the Royal Oak campus and upgrade Beaumonts technology. Beaumont employees and vendors are encouraged to reach out, with confidentiality assured. Fox took his marching orders from John Lewis, a retired Comerica executive who came from Oakwood and was named chairman of the combined organizations. But Beaumonts release last month announcing her elevation to chair to replace John Lewis provides some insight. Six months into Freese Decker's acquisition of Beaumont Health from former controversial CEO John Fox, metro Detroit's biggest hospital system is suffering from a pandemic of red ink. Turns out Beaumonts reported $4 billion reserve also dwindled by the time Fox turned over the keys to Freese Decker. Whats notable about the joint announcement and Beaumonts internal communications is whats missing. But ER nurses are angry with Melissa Foreman Lovell, Troys chief nursing officer, who they say rarely appears at the hospital. Its Beaumonts attempt to mislead southeastern Michigan residents that they arent losing a local institution. By Eric Starkman During the Covid pandemic, a hospital's safety practices are more. Freese Decker should be fired. Beaumont has signed a letter of intent to merge with Spectrum Health, a Grand Rapids-based hospital network focused on Western Michigan, the company announced internally Wednesday. Reach Eric Starkman at: eric@starkmanapproved.com. The FTC is headed by Lina Khan, a Democrat appointed by Biden and sworn in last June 15 to a three-year term. So What? One need only look at Beaumont, an amalgamation of the Beaumont Health System, Royal Oak, Oakwood Healthcare, Dearborn, and Botsford Health Care in Farmington Hills that was created in 2014. Beaumont Troy also operates at a reduced capacity. Reach Eric Starkman at: eric@starkmanapproved.com. The situation has become so acute that an ICU patient was recently treated in Troys ER. I know little about Fream, who served as Beaumonts vice chair for several years. No doubt the pot of cash is the bait that got the merger talks going. Reach the writer ateric@starkmanapproved.com. Copyrightdocument.write(new Date().getFullYear());Deadline Detroit, Inc. - All Rights Reserved, AG Dana Nessel and Gov. The quality of care has declined to such a degree that insiders readily admit they wouldnt entrust their families care to the hospital. Starkman: Why Beaumont's John Fox Could Haul More Than $30 Million Back to Atlanta Tweet. That's bad news for Metro Detroit's biggest hospital system. Spectrum also is comfortable issuing misleading or deceptive statements, so culturally Beaumont is possibly a great fit. Most of them arent qualified to serve on the board of a major hospital company and the proof is in the Beaumont pudding. A source told me that Barbee was highly regarded among Spectrums Black employees but was frustrated by his inability to achieve meaningful change. Spectrums joint release with Beaumont says the aim of the deal is to make health care more affordable for the communities we serve. Heres my challenge to Freese Decker: For every independent study she can come up with showing where hospital mergers resulted in more affordable care, I will come up with two showing the opposite.
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