============================================================ Health Options Digest January 7-13, 2002 Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield ============================================================ In this issue... * OPPORTUNITIES - Springfield City Beat: Village People Sought * PEACEHEALTH NEWS - St. Vincent's Director Quits Hospital Board - Arlie Buying Property To Defer Taxes - Taxes Delayed, Not Avoided - PeaceHealth Buys Thoroughfare Near Campus - Springfield Mayor Lauds Year's Gains, Sees Challenges To Come - People Top Springfield's Six Secrets To Success - Mayor Gives Vision Of City With Vitality * PEACEHEALTH COMMENTARY - Investigate Land Deal - Karen McCowan: Did She Fall For A Line? - Jesse Springer: Cartoon - Eugene Weekly: Slant - Sitting On $357 Million - Deep Dish With Dinah: Not Since 1492 - Mayor Is Right On Target With Secrets Of Success - Focus On Solution * OTHER LOCAL NEWS - Cottage Grove Hospital Planning Nearly On Target - Health Care Spending Rises Rapidly - Springfield's Future: Plans, Dreams, Cuts - Development Agency Seeking New Director - Layoffs Hit Sony At Springfield Site - Sony To Issue Layoffs - Springfield City Beat: Meeting To Look For Solutions To Meandering Of McKenzie * KEY * CREDITS ============================================================ OPPORTUNITIES ============================================================ SPRINGFIELD CITY BEAT: VILLAGE PEOPLE SOUGHT Do you know where your nodes are? Not lymph nodes -- these are city nodes, urban villages with a mix of employers, residences and commercial development, all in walking or bicycling distance. The city wants volunteers for a committee that will boil a list of 15 possible sites down to five or six for development. The committee will meet five to six times between the end of February and May, planner Susanna Julber said. "They'd be meeting with a committee of city staff and agency representatives from the Oregon Department of Transportation and Lane Transit District," Julber said, "to go over data and give us some insight where they think these first nodes should be located." It could be a hot-button issue, considering that one of those areas once designated for nodes -- Gateway -- is now planned for PeaceHealth's $350 million Sacred Heart Medical Center. It remains to be seen whether urban villages will be part of that project. For more information about the committee, call Julber at 726-3652 by Thursday. [Matt Cooper, RG city & region story, 1/12/02, page 1B] http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020112/1b.cr.spcitybeat.0112.html ============================================================ PEACEHEALTH NEWS ============================================================ ST. VINCENT'S DIRECTOR QUITS HOSPITAL BOARD Terry McDonald, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul in Lane County, has quit the PeaceHealth regional governing board. He submitted his letter of resignation on Thursday, three days after PeaceHealth closed a $34 million deal to buy 160 acres in north Springfield to build a new hospital. McDonald said his resignation had nothing to do with PeaceHealth's decision to move its hospital from Eugene to Springfield. But he earlier confirmed to The Register-Guard that he voted last year against the Springfield move. McDonald said Tuesday he's simply too busy with his own enterprise to continue serving on the PeaceHealth board... [Tim Christie, RG city & region story, 1/9/02, page 1D] http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020109/1d.cr.mcdonald.0109.html ------------------------------------------------------------ ARLIE BUYING PROPERTY TO DEFER TAXES After selling 160 acres to PeaceHealth for $34 million, is Eugene real estate whiz John Musumeci kicking back? Not likely. Musumeci and his Arlie & Co. are working feverishly to buy other investment properties within the next six months, and thereby avoid paying federal and state capital gains taxes on their profit in the PeaceHealth deal, real estate brokers say. Brokers figure Arlie is scouting for property throughout Oregon and probably in other states, too... [Christian Wihtol, RG business story, 1/10/02, page 1C] http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020110/1c.bz.exchange.0110.html ------------------------------------------------------------ TAXES DELAYED, NOT AVOIDED Eugene-based Arlie & Co. is using a section of the Internal Revenue Code to defer capital gains taxes that would otherwise be due on Arlie's sale of 160 acres in Springfield's Gateway area to PeaceHealth. Under the deferral procedure, the tax liability is rolled over into other investment real estate. The headline on an article in Thursday's Business section about the deferral procedure incorrectly characterized the process. [RG business story, 1/11/02, page 8D] http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020111/8d.bz.clarify.0111.html ------------------------------------------------------------ PEACEHEALTH BUYS THOROUGHFARE NEAR CAMPUS: The medical group is keeping its expansion options open, and pedestrians may be forced to find an alternate route PeaceHealth is shelling out $85,000 to buy the alley bordering the north edge of Sacred Heart Medical Center between Hilyard and Alder Streets, a path students and community members use to walk to the University. The ordinance to vacate the alley, which was passed by the Eugene City Council on Dec. 10 and becomes effective on Jan. 9, is the latest development in the medical group's plans for the hospital and surrounding facilities. PeaceHealth spokesman Brian Terrett said there are no current plans for the alley, and he would not predict the property's future. He said that owning it would allow PeaceHealth more flexibility in planning what to do with its Eugene campus... [Brook Reinhard, ODE story, 1/8/02] http://www.dailyemerald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2002/01/08/3c3b1d92572da ------------------------------------------------------------ SPRINGFIELD MAYOR LAUDS YEAR'S GAINS, SEES CHALLENGES TO COME Springfield -- Springfield's gains in 2001 stem from fortitude, volunteerism, a flexible city staff, planning and a strong sense of community, Mayor Sid Leiken said Monday during his second state of the city address... Alan Yordy, chief executive of PeaceHealth in Oregon, said Leiken "set the tone" for a cooperative application process as PeaceHealth proposes a new $350 million hospital near the McKenzie River... [Matt Cooper, RG city & region story, 1/8/02, page 1B] http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020108/1b.cr.stateofspringfield.0108.html ------------------------------------------------------------ PEOPLE TOP SPRINGFIELD'S SIX SECRETS TO SUCCESS "Boy, folks, it's been quite a ride." That's how Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken summed up the city's Year 2001 Monday in his State of the City address at City Hall... In 2001, the city assisted Symantec Corp., PacificSource Health Plans, Holt International and PeaceHealth in finding sites for relocation to Springfield, he said. That retained jobs in Lane County, he said. "The bad news is, despite our best efforts, we lost more than 2,000 jobs last year in the metro area," Leiken said. "The pressure is on Springfield and Eugene to work more cooperatively than ever before, along with area utilities and both chambers of commerce, to ensure good, family-wage jobs stay right here."... [Tim Shinabarger, SN front page story, 1/9/02] http://www.springfieldnews.com/news/frontpage/sn_frontpage.htm#TopOfPage http://www.springfieldnews.com/2002/news0109/frontpage/sn_frontpage.htm#TopOfPage ------------------------------------------------------------ MAYOR GIVES VISION OF CITY WITH VITALITY Eugene needs to be nicer to businesses so they'll locate here and stick around, Mayor Jim Torrey said Wednesday in his annual State of the City address. Businesses need elbow room, so Eugene has to make sure it has enough easy-to-use industrial land ready to go, he said... Eugene was hurt last year as PeaceHealth, Symantec, Holt International Children's Services and PacificSource all decided to relocate in the Gateway area of Springfield. Employees from those firms will continue to live in Eugene, and they'll continue to use city services -- but Eugene won't be collecting taxes from their employers... [Diane Dietz, RG front page story, 1/10/02, page 1A] http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020110/1a.stateofcity.0110.html ============================================================ PEACEHEALTH COMMENTARY ============================================================ INVESTIGATE LAND DEAL Am I the only outraged citizen? Former Gang of 9 member John Musumeci grabs $18 million gross profits off the sale of land to the good sisters who run PeaceHealth to relocate Sacred Heart Medical Center? The good sisters loaned Musumeci $4.2 million to create $18 million in profit? And what about McKenzie-Willamette Hospital? Put them out of business, too? What is the mission of PeaceHealth? Is it to provide health care, or to enrich land speculators? Who's going to pay for all this? The answer is you and I and anyone covered by health insurance. Who's going to pay for all the infrastructure costs -- sewer, water, electricity -- and the indirect losses to downtown Eugene and Springfield? The taxpayers, of course. This is treachery, pure and simple. The good sisters, the Catholic Church, anyone who has a contract with PeaceHealth, the insurance commission and the real estate commission -- should all demand an investigation. It's nice to see that The Register-Guard is capable of good investigative journalism. [Sen. Tony Corcoran, District 4, Cottage Grove, RG letter to editor, 1/9/02] http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020109/ed.letters.0109.html ------------------------------------------------------------ KAREN MCCOWAN: DID SHE FALL FOR A LINE? The guy was notorious for having his way with one partner after another. But she was so sure: This time would be different. After encountering her, he was a changed man. He shared her values -- to his very soul. It would be laughable, if "she" wasn't our region's largest health care provider. Digesting details of PeaceHealth's finally-consummated, $34 million purchase of a Springfield hospital site, it's clear: This is not the outcome CEO Alan Yordy predicted back in September, when he announced selection of a site within Arlie & Co.'s RiverBend project. It was hard to imagine a more disparate pair of business partners than PeaceHealth and Arlie land manager John Musumeci... [Karen McCowan, RG column, 1/9/02, page 1D] http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020109/1d.cr.mccowan.0109.html ------------------------------------------------------------ JESSE SPRINGER: CARTOON "Oh my god --it's Alan Yordy! What hapPened?!?" "Paid $34 million through the nose, poor guy!" [Jesse Springer, RG cartoon, 1/10/02, page 10A] http://jessespringer.home.mindspring.com/current_images/eug.gif ------------------------------------------------------------ EUGENE WEEKLY: SLANT We commented last week on the peculiar nature of PeaceHealth's $34 million buy-out of land they helped Arlie & Co. acquire for about $16 million. Much of the land cannot be used because of its proximity to the river, and the costs of infrastructure will add to the millions. It's a risky deal all the way around, particularly if PeaceHealth gets stuck with overpriced land it can't develop. We appreciate grand visions and bold planning, but we can't help but fear the local PeaceHealth board and administration are in over their heads on this project. Meanwhile the costs of health care and medical insurance rise and rise and rise. [EW news short, 1/10/02] http://www.eugeneweekly.com/news.html#shorts http://www.eugeneweekly.com/archive/01_10_02/news.html#shorts ------------------------------------------------------------ SITTING ON $357 MILLION I am very perturbed by the data presented by the excellent, revealing article (Register-Guard, Jan. 6) regarding PeaceHealth's acquisition of land along the McKenzie River. Where did the $357 million (PeaceHealth's investment portfolio plus additional cash and securities) come from, and how can PeaceHealth afford to sit on such an enormous sum of money (more than $1,000 for each man, woman and child in Lane County)? Could someone else have provided (or could someone provide in the future) quality health care to this community for $357 million less during those years of accumulation, thereby freeing up that sum of money to be utilized within the local business community instead of being retained in the "investment portfolio" of the "nonprofit" corporation? Considering the casual manner in which PeaceHealth officials justified the exorbitant $34 million price they paid for their inappropriate parcel, why should we be confident that this entity is capable of prudent planning for the future of health care for this community? [Fred Felter, Eugene, RG letter to editor, 1/11/02] http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020111/ed.letters.0111.html ------------------------------------------------------------ DEEP DISH WITH DINAH: NOT SINCE 1492 ...It looks like PeaceHealth ran aground at Riverbend. $34 million for the land, when they planned to spend eight? Hey, what's $26 mil between friends? At least that's the story. Truth be told, Alan Yordy had such a falling out with John Musumeci that they bought all the land to keep the California developer away. When they told you you don't get to choose your relatives or your neighbors, they were only referring to those who can't buy the whole block. I'm sure they ran the numbers, but it seems like $26 million is a steep price for a restraining order. The good folks at Arlie (they are no longer called Arlie Land & Cattle Co. after we called their office with some bovine queries last fall) may yet get their hands on some land in the neighborhood. They are still hoping to pull the land swap with the city for the Broad Base complex. There are at least three ways that deal will go south before the sports complex goes east. The city picked up the land years ago from the state for about a grand an acre, but in return the city agreed to use it for park-like facilities. Some of the Springfield officials that cut the deal may refresh the city's memory by asking the state to take the land back if the covenant is not met. Don't expect Eugene to cooperate on any transportation needs that any Arlie-driven change of use requires. They only agreed to cooperate before because they figured their kids would get to hop, skip, and jump in those fields too -- less likely if the sports complex gets moved near Thurston. And will Springfield dare cooperate with Arlie if they think it might upset PeaceHealth? The hospital might pick up and move back to Eugene! One very unhappy camper through this whole ordeal is the not-yet-beatified Terry McDonald from St. Vincent de Paul. He has resigned from the PeaceHealth governing board, no doubt in part because Yordy went over their heads to the corporate board in Bellevue, Washington. Why did Yordy run north to get permission? If you believe what's written in the daily paper, it's because "the holiday season made it too hectic" to get the local OK. Yeah, right. I guess they don't celebrate the holidays up in Washington. Or the board here couldn't be interrupted from seeing Harry Potter a third time after standing in line at Mucho Gusto to weigh in on a $350 million deal that's central to PeaceHealth's 100 Year Plan. Even if a reporter (and editor) is that gullible, does it mean the readers have to be too?... [Dinah, CN column, 1/14/02, #371] http://www.something2eat.com/features.cfm?columnist=1&RequestedArticleID=155 ------------------------------------------------------------ MAYOR IS RIGHT ON TARGET WITH SECRETS OF SUCCESS As mayors are wont to do in their annual State of the City addresses, Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken was full of optimism and praise Monday morning when he addressed some 200 people in City Hall. But the praise and optimism is well justified. Despite several unpleasant events in the country during the past year, 2001 was a good year for Springfield... PeaceHealth has selected Springfield as the site for a new hospital and just last week PeaceHealth announced it was buying the entire RiverBend property of 160 acres instead of a smaller parcel as it had originally planned... [SN editorial, 1/9/02] http://www.springfieldnews.com/news/opinion/sn_opinion.html#TopOfPage http://www.springfieldnews.com/2002/news0109/opinion/sn_opinion.html#TopOfPage ------------------------------------------------------------ FOCUS ON SOLUTION I have noted that The Register-Guard carries almost daily articles pointing to the fact that the "American system of medicine is threatened with meltdown from a combination of rising costs, declining access and incredible inefficiencies," as David Broder puts it (Register-Guard, Jan. 6). In the previous day's edition, the newspaper ran an article on the state paying benefits under the Oregon Health Plan to "ineligible" people. There was no mention of the possibility that these people's respective needs may have been more important than their eligibility. The Jan. 8 front page includes an article headlined "Health care spending rises rapidly." Perhaps, as Marc Shapiro pointed out (letters, Dec. 29), the editors would serve their readers better by devoting some coverage to the Oregon Comprehensive Health Care Finance Plan, which is currently the subject of a initiative petition drive. Continually pointing to the problem, of which we are all aware, is not very productive unless the editors are also willing to discuss possible solutions. To risk use of a cliche, "If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem." [Charlotte Maloney, Eugene, RG letter to editor, 1/12/02] http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020112/ed.lettersop.0112.html ============================================================ OTHER LOCAL NEWS ============================================================ COTTAGE GROVE HOSPITAL PLANNING NEARLY ON TARGET Cottage Grove -- Amid the brouhaha that has accompanied PeaceHealth's efforts to relocate its downtown Eugene hospital to the Gateway area of northwest Springfield, the giant health care organization's other hospital-moving effort has proceeded in nearly total eclipse. Nonetheless, plans to build a new hospital complex in Cottage Grove have advanced nearly on schedule, PeaceHealth spokesman Brian Terrett said, with groundbreaking anticipated for mid-2002 and opening slated for the summer of 2003. On Monday, the City Council will consider a minor amendment to its urban renewal plan that would allocate $208,000 for improvements to Village Drive and pay for installation of a 12-inch water line to serve the 16.5-acre property just east of Interstate 5, adjacent to the Middlefield Estates development... [Randi Bjornstad, RG city & region story, 1/11/02, page 1C] http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020111/1c.cr.hospital.0111.html ------------------------------------------------------------ HEALTH CARE SPENDING RISES RAPIDLY Washington -- Americans' spending on health care rose 6.9 percent to $1.3 trillion in 2000, including a 17.3 percent boost in spending on prescription drugs, the government says. Health care spending averaged $4,637 per person, up from $4,377 in 1999, the government said in a report marking what its economists called the "end of an era of reasonable health care cost growth throughout most of the 1990s." The report, released today by the Health and Human Services Department's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said hospital spending in 2000 rose to $412 billion, a 5.1 percent increase over 1999. For the first time in five years, nursing home expenditures increased, by 3.3 percent. The higher spending in all categories was attributed to the increased bargaining power of hospitals and health providers for higher insurance payments and to the aging of the post-World War II baby boomers... [Janelle Carter, The Associated Press, RG front page story, 1/8/02, page 1A] http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020108/1a.healthcosts.0108.html ------------------------------------------------------------ SPRINGFIELD'S FUTURE: PLANS, DREAMS, CUTS Springfield -- The City Council and four public agencies will spend Saturday proposing projects, debating spending cuts and planning for the future. This year the city wants to balance services and funding; plan redevelopment in Glenwood and identify sites citywide for urban villages; staff the 28th Street fire station; revitalize downtown; determine whether to establish a library district; reconcile police staffing shortages and service demands; and stabilize street funding. The council will meet at noon to discuss a three-year budget strategy, goals for the next five years and targets for 2002. The meeting will follow a morning session at which TEAM Springfield -- which includes City Hall, Springfield schools, the Springfield Utility Board and the Willamalane Park and Recreation District -- also will discuss projects... [Matt Cooper, RG city & region section, 1/10/02, page 1B] http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020110/1b.cr.spfiveyear.0110.html ------------------------------------------------------------ DEVELOPMENT AGENCY SEEKING NEW DIRECTOR The Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Partnership is looking for a new leader and hopes to find one by March. The 15-year-old economic development agency is searching for a replacement for Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken, who on Jan. 31 will leave his post as the partnership's interim executive director. Leiken took the helm temporarily in September, when the previous executive director, Lee Beyer, left to work as a commissioner on the Oregon Public Utilities Commission. Leiken said he didn't want to pursue the executive director position on a permanent basis because as Springfield mayor he already is a member of the partnership's board... [Sherri Buri McDonald, RG business story, 1/10/02, page 1C] http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020110/1c.bz.partnership.0110.html ------------------------------------------------------------ LAYOFFS HIT SONY AT SPRINGFIELD SITE Springfield -- Sony Disc Manufacturing announced Friday that it will lay off about 70 full-time employees, or about 20 percent of its work force. The company cited a tough market for its products, which include music compact discs and PlayStation CD-ROMs. It's the first time since the factory opened in 1995 that Sony has conducted a broad layoff there, the company said. Sony is among Springfield's largest private employers. Sony said it has already started making the cuts, and expects to complete them by March 31. The cuts include employees from all departments and all levels of the factory on International Way, the company said... [Christian Wihtol, RG front page story, 1/12/02, page 1A] http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020112/1a.sony.0112.html ------------------------------------------------------------ SONY TO ISSUE LAYOFFS Sony Disc Manufacturing will reduce its Springfield workforce by about 70 positions between now and the end of March, the company announced Friday. Reductions include employees from all areas of the operation and all levels of the company, Sony said in a two-sentence press release. The reductions result from difficult market conditions, according to the announcement. The Sony facility on International Way produces audio compact discs, CD-ROMs and PlayStation CD-ROMs. It provides digital authoring services, packaging and assembly. Sony opened the $50-million, 336,000-square-foot facility on 120 acres in the Gateway area in May 1995. The company employed about 400 people in 2000. [Tim Shinabarger, SN front page story, 1/12/02] http://www.springfieldnews.com/news/frontpage/sn_frontpage-01.htm#TopOfPage http://www.springfieldnews.com/2002/news0112/frontpage/sn_frontpage-01.htm#TopOfPage ------------------------------------------------------------ SPRINGFIELD CITY BEAT: MEETING TO LOOK FOR SOLUTIONS TO MEANDERING OF MCKENZIE Like a drop in the river level, fears of a flood emergency on the McKenzie River have receded. A month ago, the river was eating up farmland east of Thurston and, some said, threatening to overrun Cedar Creek. Property owners and government officials mobilized, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers declared there was no immediate danger. Now the long-term question: How to reconcile the interests of property owners, environmental advocates and governmental entities within the flood plain? The McKenzie Watershed Council, a nonregulatory group of volunteers, is going to help find an answer. The group will coordinate meetings with interested parties including property owners, government officials, the corps, the Division of State Lands and the state Department of Fish & Wildlife... [Matt Cooper, RG city & region story, 1/12/02, page 1B] http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020112/1b.cr.spcitybeat.0112.html ============================================================ KEY ============================================================ "Health Options Digest" summarizes local newspaper stories on developments affecting the health options available to the community and the people making those decisions. "Health Options Digest" is best read with an email program that recognizes links to web pages. It includes leads from and links to stories and opinions from the following publications: RG = The Register-Guard SN = Springfield News (Follow first link if item is still current, second link if item is past.) EW = Eugene Weekly (Follow first link if item is still current, second link if item is past.) CN = Comic News ODE = Oregon Daily Emerald ============================================================ CREDITS ============================================================ "Health Options Digest" is published once a week by the Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES) as a service to the community. It is intended as an unbiased digest of news and commentary related to proposed changes in health care options for the community. The purpose of "Health Options Digest" is to inform, not editorialize. Please forward your copy of "Health Options Digest" to a friend. If you know of someone who should be on the CHOICES email list, send email to rzako@efn.org.