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. Beaumont Health was significantly impacted by these financial and workforce headwinds that were particularly strong in Southeast Michigan (in the second quarter). What, if any, role Wilson will play after the merger hasnt been disclosed. He previously concluded a deal with Akron-based Summa Health but backed out despite already having received regulatory approval. 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. Instead, they allowed Spectrum to acquire Beaumont, creating Michigans biggest hospital system, as well as the states biggest employer. By Eric Starkman. The Beaumont Health System, comprised of Royal Oak, Troy, and Grosse Pointe hospitals, was far superior and the expectation was that the merger would elevate the quality of staff and patient care at the Oakwood and Botsford hospitals. Henry Ford in Detroit in years past enjoyed an A safety rating. By Eric Starkman During the Covid pandemic, a hospital's safety practices are more. 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 . The terms of the deal were so obscenely favorable to Advocate Aurora that Rep. Andy Levin, whose district includes Beaumont Royal Oak, announced he would oppose the deal. That Fream will serve as chair of the board overseeing a combined Spectrum and Beaumont is a disgrace and underscores Michigans poor leadership. To support Deadline Detroit's independent. 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. She bolted last month. The evidence is, Spectrums previous head of diversity was Ovell Barbee, an African American, who Spectrum, Many organizations are not interested in real change, Chris Metzler, the former associate dean for human resources and diversity studies at Georgetown University,, Disparities in healthcare are typically blamed on racism of U.S. doctors and other health professionals. Prioritys goal is to capture as much market share as possible and then use that power to reduce what it pays to doctors to cover their services. They are looking at diversity as a numbers game. To support Deadline Detroit's independent. It appears that Beaumont Health CEO John Fox won't be bundling his millions and bidding Michigan goodbye as soon as he hoped. Its near impossible to put a positive spin on a critical and passionate letter written by a former top executive who played a major role transforming Spectrum into a western Michigan powerhouse. Beaumont Health CEO John Fox has no shame. That's bad news for Metro Detroit's biggest hospital system. The metric that matters most is quality of patient care. 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. After posting his letter, Freed noted on his LinkedIn page that Beaumont made $167 million from its operations in 2020, which included revenue recognition of $349 million from the CARES Act and FEMA payments for Covid. He also noted that Beaumont received Medicare advances of $505 million in 2020 that needs to be returned this year. 'The Week That Was:' Will Kristina Karamo Seriously Damage Michigan's Republican Party? The writer, a Los Angeles freelancer, is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs at Starkman Approved. Freese Decker held various strategic and operational roles before being named to the top job in 2018. Rather than having people speculate he was passed over, he chose to step down in advance. According to the most recently available filings, Freese Decker earned $3.9 million in 2018. More importantly, I doubt that Spectrums doctors would feel the need to circumvent management in the first place. John Kerndl and Denise Waters. Seven Failed Beaumont Directors Will Serve on Board If Spectrum Merger Gets Approval Tweet. Spectrums board strikes me as pretty buttoned up, so they might not yet appreciate the extent of how damaged Beaumont really is. However, Beaumont Royal Oak is one of the busiest surgical centers in the country. Not a situation one would expect given that Freese Decker said her biggest priority was building a health system that celebrates and reinforces diversity and inclusion.. 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. We talk with many of them, Joanne Giardini-Russell, a Brighton Medicare consultant posted on Freeds LinkedIn page. Thats how Beaumont ended up in the sorry state that it did. How Absurd. Beaumont employees and vendors are encouraged to reach out, with confidentiality assured. Spectrum no doubt knew that Fox was desperate to unload Beaumont, so Freese Decker had him by the cajones. Spectrums financial statements indicate that cash and investments from the acquisition was $3.2 billion. Disparities in healthcare are typically blamed on racism of U.S. doctors and other health professionals. This columnist, a Los Angeles freelancer, is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs atStarkman Approved. Spectrum CEO Tina Freese Decker obviously believes the Beaumont merger is already a done deal. Fox disclosed that Beaumont has extensively expanded its use of nurse staffing agencies, which could exacerbate already poor morale among its nurses. Fox that year was paid $5.9 million. Beaumont CFO John Kerndl Resigns, Beaumont Nurse Anesthetists Union Drive Could Save Imploding Hospital from Further Demise, Layoffs. Confidentiality is assured. Even more disconcerting: Beaumont chairwoman Julie Fream will serve as chairwoman if the companies merge. 'The Week That Was:' Will Kristina Karamo Seriously Damage Michigan's Republican Party? Bloomberg on Wednesday posted an editorial warning about the growing merger trend among hospitals, noting that it leads to higher insurance prices. He's even willing to. Starkman: Beware! If Michigan had a competent attorney general or a governor with a healthcare interest beyond abortion rights, the deal would have been derailed. We are incredibly excited about the impact the BHSH Beaumont Health Nurse Scholar program will have in health care and for our communities.. The nursing scholarship wont alleviate Spectrums immediate nurse staffing issues. Copyrightdocument.write(new Date().getFullYear());Deadline Detroit, Inc. - All Rights Reserved, Tina Freese Decker, Spectrum president and CEO, a month membership or a one-time donation, 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, Andy Levin Goes After Amazon's Union Busting in Alabama, but Silent About Beaumont. Grand Rapids business community is small and tight knit, and Spectrum is a major employer in western Michigan. As often happens when you meld two organizations, the weaker one brings the stronger one down. 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. In quickly reviewing Spectrums website and news releases, I can't find evidence that Freese Decker has expressed the belief that Spectrum needed to achieve considerable size to survive and remain competitive. 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. Beaumont employees and vendors are encouraged to reach out, with confidentiality assured. This columnist, a Los Angeles freelancer, is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs atStarkman Approved. Starkman: Beaumont CFO John Kerndl and Top CEO Aide Say No! 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 Royal Oak budget cuts were made in 2020, when Beaumont increased its reserves to $3.5 billion from $2.5 billion and Fox earlier in the year warned U.S. hospitals could collapse because of the pandemic. 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. Spectrum also is comfortable issuing misleading or deceptive statements, so culturally Beaumont is possibly a great fit. Spectrum is a competently run company on an upward trajectory, while Beaumont is a very damaged goods operation. "Our staff must care for those unvaccinated individuals who become extremely ill with the Covid Delta variant, or other variants, and try to balance all the other patients coming in with medical emergencies. Why would Beaumont nurses want to remain on staff when they can make more money working at a staffing agency? The nursing shortage has forced Beaumont Royal Oak to use so-called travel nurses from temp agencies to hold things together in the ER, but this is sparking additional resentment. Spectrumreportedthat Beaumonts operations already have racked up nearly $100 million in losses. 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. Speaking of Oakland University, when Fox announced his ill-fated attempt to merge Beaumont into Chicago-based Advocate Aurora, one of the few benefits he touted was that Advocate Aurora had agreed to move Oakland Universitys William Beaumont School of Medicine to Beaumonts Royal Oak campus. This columnist, a Los Angeles freelancer, is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs at Starkman Approved. Various studies, including one published in 2019 by Harvard researchers, also show that hospital mergers result in worsened patient experiences. Much of Freeds letter focuses on why merging with Beaumont is very bad for western Michigan residents, but in doing so he calls out Beaumonts lack of financial transparency and notes that the few disclosures Beaumont makes dont add up. I can suspect what the problem is but, without transparency, I cant know.. Beaumont institutionally has a very tenuous relationship with truth. Also, if you wish to support Deadline Detroit's. John Kerndl, who joined Beaumont in 2016, quit in March. Studies also show that hospital mergers also result in a decline in patient care. Beaumont employees and vendors are encouraged to reach out, with confidentiality assured. September 15, 2020, 9:36 PM . Share. Financially, the pandemic was very good to Beaumont, as the hospital system pocketed an additional $1 billion for its $2.5 billion reserve kitty while furloughing and terminating hundreds of employees. Multiple sources have shared theyve been told by some Beaumont directors that Fox cant be fired, but no one gave a reason as to why. Eric Starkman of Los Angeles is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs at Starkman Approved. (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. Even when Fox announces a merger deal with Spectrum, theres still no guarantee it will go through. Beaumonts flagship Royal Oak hospital only garnered a four-star rating and its other hospitals earned two-and three-star ratings. But Beaumonts release last month announcing her elevation to chair to replace John Lewis provides some insight. Spectrums takeover must be approved by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Federal Trade Commission. The joint release promotes the benefits of Priority Health, Spectrums insurance plan. As an example of their power and influence, they have managed to derail enforcement of rules the Trump Administration issued requiring hospitals to be transparent about their prices. If there was an annual award for the healthcare industrys biggest chump, I defy anyone to propose a more worthy recipient than Tina Freese Decker, CEO of Grand Rapids-based Spectrum Health. Spectrum, with $6.9 billion in revenues, operates 14 hospitals in the western side of the stateand has 30,000 employees. Beaumont spent nearly $2 million on union busters when nurses at the Royal Oak hospital attempted to organize in 2019. The FTC is headed by Lina Khan, a Democrat appointed by Biden and sworn in last June 15 to a three-year term. It is said that you can judge a person by the company they keep. Beaumont CFO John Kerndl Resigns, Beaumont Nurse Anesthetists Union Drive Could Save Imploding Hospital from Further Demise, Layoffs. By comparison, BHSH will have 22 hospitals and 64,000 employees. I dont know how we could handle a catastrophe, said a source at Royal Oaks ER. 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. Though Spectrum Health is a respectable hospital network run by a management and board deeply committed to the Grand Rapids area, the evidence is overwhelming that southeastern Michigan residents wont ultimately benefit from the deal. It marks the passing of a once great hospital system, and the creation of a giant Michigan hospital network Spectrums former CFO Michael Freed has warned could result in a , Spectrum Moves Forward with Beaumont Takeover, Beaumont Expects Imminent FTC Approval For Spectrum Takeover Of Its Faltering Hospital System, Good News From Beaumont Hospital Network To Spend 'Significant Dollars' to Expand Private Room Capacity, Beaumont Foxs Thanks to Hospital Docs: Let Them Eat A Cookie., Beaumont Faces Threat of Nurse Anesthetists Strike Over Declining Patient Safety Standards, Bad News for Beaumont -- CEO John Fox Sticking Around Longer Than Expected, CEO John Foxs Michigan Legacy? Its a vicious cycle, one that I doubt Spectrum has figured out how to solve. The scuttlebutt around town is that Beaumont directors believe that a merger is the only way to get rid of Fox. Less readily understood is why Spectrum would want to do a deal. Starkman: Electric Vehicles and the Exploitation of Michigan Taxpayers. 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. Passed over, he chose to step down in advance unload Beaumont, creating Michigans biggest system! Giardini-Russell, a Los Angeles freelancer, is a very damaged goods operation Freese held. Beaumont nurses want to do a deal remain on staff when they can make more money at. Beaumont CFO John Kerndl Resigns, Beaumont Nurse Anesthetists Union Drive could Save Imploding hospital Further.: Beaumont CFO John Kerndl and top CEO Aide Say no of Health. 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