Just say "no" to the sale of Valley Hospital

On One Hand, by Howard Bess

The bungling boards of Valley Hospital are trying to sell Valley residents a solution to the financial problems of the hospital. Their unanimous recommendation is to sell control of the hospital to a Dallas, Texas, corporation called Triad Hospitals Inc. They have come to the conclusion that a locally controlled community hospital cannot be financially successful.

No one seemed to be worried about financial viability a few years back when a highly organized special interest group was successful in taking over the boards of Valley Hospital. Competence was not a concern as boards were elected. The only issue that mattered was whether or not a candidate was "pro-life" (anti-abortion). The operation of the hospital was not their highest priority. The same group still has a strangle hold on what was once a community hospital. They have squandered the hospital heritage of "neighbors helping neighbors."

They not only squandered the hospital heritage, they squandered the hospital financial viability. They spent well over $500,000 in legal fees trying to translate their theology into hospital law. When the dust settled, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled against the hospital. But that was not enough. The last time I checked, the hospital was still paying for the services of a right-to-life lawyer from Terra Haute, Ind., to challenge parts of the Supreme Court ruling.

Their most recent adventure was a remodel of the hospital facility in Palmer. It was all done with borrowed money that they somehow deemed affordable. The problem is that they built more for show than for the production of revenue. Now the hospital is loaded with burdensome debt.

The hospital board and their hired administrators had a special knack of alienating doctors and dealing with the medical staff as adversaries. The reality is that doctors are the only real customers of the hospital. The doctors are the ones who admit all patients to hospital care. With the attitude of the hospital operating board no one should be surprised when doctors take their patients to Anchorage hospitals and use competing vendors for all kinds of testing.

And the hospital operating board cannot figure out why the hospital keeps losing market share.

Now the hospital board is coming to us members in panic. "We must sell to Triad or Valley Hospital will fail and disappear." They are now peddling the glorious benefits of selling to Triad. The basic message is "They will bring us money."

And who is Triad? They are a corporation that is less than four years old. Their mission is to become great by buying out small-town hospitals. They have scarfed up about 50 so far. Their stock price shot up as would be expected of a new aggressive growth corporation. They have never paid a dividend to their stock holders and in recent months the value of their stock has sunk about 20 percent.

Their corporate president does very well. Forty-seven-year-old James D. Shelton is paid more than a million dollars a year to guide the operation. Shelton is well traveled. He has never stayed long enough in one place to build anything. His resumŽ proudly points out that he has managed hospitals in six different states and spent time with a variety of hospital corporations.

Remember, before looking at what is being offered, take a look at who is doing the offering.

Of course Triad does have prestige. In addition to a list of high-paid executive staff, Triad has five division presidents and five senior vice presidents. Triad does not travel light.

Their board of directors carries prestige. How do you like this list?

Dale V. Kesler chairs the audit committee of Triad. His most recent professional connection was as a managing partner of Arthur Anderson.

Thomas Loeffler is a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He has served as an advisor to Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr. and George W. Bush. Mr. Loeffler serves on the compensation committee of Triad.

Marvin Runyon is a name we all remember. He is the retired postmaster general of the United States. He made his fortune as an executive of Ford Motor Company and Nissan. He serves on the audit committee with Kesler.

Gale Sayers is probably the most famous of the board members. He was a star running back with the Chicago Bears and was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1977.

When the Triad Board of Directors is analyzed, the connections to law, politics, banking and big business are very obvious. I am certain that high quality health care is their highest priority. Sure!

When the history and makeup of Triad is examined, we are reminded that importing $75 million dollars of capital comes at a high price. These folks have every intention of taking a lot more than $75 million out of our community.

What will happen if we say "no" to the Triad proposal? The first result will be a bit of chaos. I learned long ago that chaos is not necessarily a negative. The benefits of chaos are real. First, chaos gets our attention. Next and most importantly, chaos increases the possibilities. As a community we need to look at the possibilities before selling our souls for a mess of pottage. What would happen if the hospital board decided to give up their adversarial ways and seek a positive working relationship with the broad citizenry of the Valley? What would happen if the doctors got their act together and put collegiality ahead of ego? What would happen if the hospital administration would relate to doctors as partners rather than as enemies? What would happen if we became serious about being "neighbors helping neighbors?"

I have never doubted that collectively we could raise the capital needed to make Valley Hospital a first-rate community hospital. Let's give it a try.

First, we must send Triad back to Texas.

Howard Bess is the pastor of Church of the Covenant, a local American Baptist congregation.