Dear CHOICES Subscribers, While both PeaceHealth and McKenzie-Willamette provide quality health care and are assets to our community, they are also businesses that must watch their bottom lines in a difficult industry. Thus it makes sense that part of the push and pull around hospital siting relates to market share: Which hospital serves which geographical territory and offers which types of high-profit medical procedures? The latest wrinkle in the ongoing saga is that state rules prohibit McKenzie-Willamette from moving to Eugene. These rules are designed to prohibit one hospital from "muscling" into the territory of another. As the rules are written, Eugene is considered to be part of PeaceHealth's territory so McKenzie-Willamette can not relocate to Eugene. In contrast, as PeaceHealth already serves many patients in there, Springfield is considered to be part of PeaceHealth's territory. Thus PeaceHealth can move to Springfield. As McKenzie-Willamette is trying to get out from under the shadow of PeaceHealth so it can survive, it has asked for a change to the rules to allow it to move to Eugene. In response, PeaceHealth, which continues to maintain that it wants to cooperate with McKenzie-Willamette, is opposing the rule change. Apparently, PeaceHealth -- who just obtained a wholesale reworking of the rules governing development in the Gateway area -- has "found religion" and now believes that playing by the rules is a good thing. CHOICES also believes that playing by the rules -- not only the letter of the rules but more importantly the spirit -- is a good thing. We believe that planning decisions should be made by the elected officials of all significantly affected citizens. We believe that plans provide predictability and protect property values. Thus plans should not be changed for the benefit of one property owner without a careful consideration of the impacts on neighboring property owners. We believe that transportation funding is severely limited -- witness the campaigns by Lane County Commissioners Bill Dwyer and Bobby Green against the new road maintenance fees. Thus it is prudent to make the best use of existing transportation facilities by locating important community services in the central part of the community close to existing roads and bus service. And we believe that the natural beauty of our community is what makes it a decent place to live. Take away the trees and rivers and we all might as well move someplace warmer and drier where there are more family-wage jobs. For all of these reasons, CHOICES is appealing Springfield's approval of PeaceHealth's plans for a new hospital. We don't believe that either Springfield or PeaceHealth have been playing by the rules, not the letter of the rules and certainly not the spirit. Rob Zako, Editor 343-5201 rzako@efn.org ================================================================================ Health Options Digest May 18, 2003 Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CALENDAR Monday, 5/19 - Eugene Budget Committee Council Chamber, Eugene City Hall, 777 Pearl St., Eugene, 682-5021. 5:30 p.m. -- Complete Preliminary FY04 Proposed Budget Recommendation, Public Hearing on the FY04 Proposed Budget Recommendation, Possible Action on the Proposed Budget Recommendation. Monday, 5/19 - Springfield City Council Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield, 726-3700. 6:30 p.m. -- Work session: Library Board application review and appointment, review of OMC, L.L.C. annexation agreement, Springfield Natural Resource Inventory. 7:00 p.m. -- Regular session: Gateway Refinement Plan diagram amendment, committee appointments, civil enforcement of code infractions ordinances. http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/CMO/2003Council/051903%20agenda.pdf Tuesday, 5/20 - Lane County Budget Committee Commissioner's Conference Room, Public Service Building, 125 E. Eighth Ave. Eugene, 682-4203. 5:15 p.m. -- Review Department Proposed Budgets, Review Financial Status, Budget Committee Discussion. http://www.co.lane.or.us/bcc_info/Meeting_Info/2003/Agenda03-5-20.htm Tuesday, 5/20 - Springfield Planning Commission Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield, 726-3753. 7:00 p.m. -- Regular session: Public hearings on Umpqua Bank's request for diagram amendment to the East Main Refinement Plan, public work's request for vacation of right-of-way at 69th Street, ODOT's request for a Willamette River Greenway goal exception for a detour bridge. http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/dsd/Planning/PC%20Agenda%20&%20Minutes/2003/May%202003.htm Wednesday, 5/21 - Lane County Board of Commissioners Commissioner's Conference Room, Public Service Building, 125 E. Eighth Ave. Eugene, 682-4203. 9:00 a.m. -- Temporary Closure of Judkins Road in Association with the ODOT I-5 Willamette River Bridge Replacement Project, Jasper Road Extension. http://www.co.lane.or.us/bcc_info/Meeting_Info/2003/Agenda03-5-20.htm Wednesday, 5/21 - Eugene Budget Committee Council Chamber, Eugene City Hall, 777 Pearl St., Eugene, 682-5021. 5:30 p.m. -- Action on the FY04 Budget Recommendation. Thursday, 5/22 - Lane County Budget Committee Commissioner's Conference Room, Public Service Building, 125 E. Eighth Ave. Eugene, 682-4203. 5:15 p.m. -- Budget Committee Discussion, Budget Deliberation, Budget Wrap-Up. http://www.co.lane.or.us/bcc_info/Meeting_Info/2003/Agenda03-5-20.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PEACEHEALTH PeaceHealth faces appeals By Jaime Sherman Springfield News, 5/14/03 The appeals process has begun. Lawyers for CHOICES, or Coalition for Health Options in Central Eugene-Springfield, and a Eugene couple have filed notices of intent to appeal the city of Springfield's decision to rezone property PeaceHealth owns in north Springfield. The notices were delivered to the state Land Use Board of Appeals in the last week. CHOICES plans to appeal the city's decision on behalf of Anne Heinsoo, Linda Cheney and Fred Felter, all of Springfield. John and Robin Jaqua, who farm along the McKenzie River, filed a similar notice of appeal. The Springfield City Council approved PeaceHealth's land use requests on a portion of 165 acres between Game Farm Road and the McKenzie River. PeaceHealth recently submitted a master plan, which shows plans to build a $350-million regional medical facility and accompanying Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend on the property. Throughout the land use process and public hearings, CHOICES voiced concerns that PeaceHealth's rezoning request didn't meet state land use goals. "We are concerned about the impacts to the community transportation, loss of housing, impact to reparian area, natural resource, habitat and flooding," said Eugene resident Jan Wilson, coordinator for CHOICES. "Why they have legal significance is that state land use goals request those community values to be addressed, and we don't feel they were addressed (by the city)," she said. Wilson said CHOICES will argue that by allowing PeaceHealth to build a hospital along the McKenzie River in the Gateway area, the city violates goals concerning public participation, natural environment, flooding, economic development, housing and transportation. Portland attorney Al Johnson filed a notice of appeal on behalf of the Jaquas, who have farmed both sides of the McKenzie River since 1953. The Jaquas "hope to permanently preserve the Eugene-Springfield community's view of the Coburg Hills," Johnson said. In addition, they are concerned about the health of the McKenzie River, its banks, flood plains and riparian areas. "We think we have a number of issues the city has not quite gotten right; we think there has been an attempt to defer too many of the critical decisions to a later time in the process," Johnson said. The city of Springfield now has 21 days to present documents about PeaceHealth's requests and the public hearings that were held. LUBA will probably consolidate each PeaceHealth appeal into one claim, Johnson said. Opening briefs will be filed with oral arguments scheduled for the summer. A decision from LUBA is expected as early as September. The losing party will have an opportunity to appeal to the Court of Appeals. (end) http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/05/14/local/news2.txt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MCKENZIE-WILLAMETTE HOSPITAL/TRIAD Rule poses obstacle for moving hospital By Tim Christie The Register-Guard, 5/16/03, Page A1 McKenzie-Willamette Hospital's desire to move from Springfield to Eugene may run afoul of an obscure state rule that governs where hospitals can relocate. McKenzie-Willamette officials have asked the state to change the rules, and the state has agreed to convene an advisory committee to consider the request. But PeaceHealth officials, who are planning to move their hospital from Eugene to Springfield, object to the rule change. They argue that McKenzie-Willamette and its new partner, Texas-based Triad Hospitals, should follow the rules. PeaceHealth's move to block or at least delay McKenzie-Willamette's building plans has further strained relations between the hospitals, which are set to meet next October in federal court to decide an antitrust lawsuit brought by McKenzie-Willamette. McKenzie-Willamette spokeswoman Rosie Pryor, in a recent e-mail to hospital supporters, wrote, "This interference is yet another example of PeaceHealth's ongoing determination to control or eliminate hospital competition in Lane County." PeaceHealth spokesman Brian Terrett said that isn't the case. "We feel like the rule serves a very good purpose," he said Thursday. "To change the rule for one organization and one particular circumstance doesn't seem like a prudent approach to the rule-making process." At issue are state administrative rules that govern hospital service areas. Except for the Portland metro area, hospitals can relocate only within their service areas. That means they can move only to a ZIP code where they have at least 20 percent market share or where at least 10 percent of their inpatient admissions originate. PeaceHealth can move Sacred Heart Medical Center from Eugene to north Springfield because it meets those criteria as a regional hospital. But McKenzie-Willamette, a smaller, independent community hospital, doesn't have that kind of customer base or market share in Eugene. Unless it can convince the state to change the rules, McKenzie-Willamette and Triad Hospitals must go through the state's certificate of need process for building a new hospital, said Jana Fussell, who coordinates that program for the state. The process could take six months or longer, plus whatever time it takes to decide any appeals that may be filed, Fussell said. McKenzie-Willamette has asked Fussell's office to change the rule. Fussell is now assembling an advisory committee whose members will represent PeaceHealth, McKenzie-Willamette, other hospital groups in Oregon, consumer groups and state agencies. She hopes to get the group together for two or three meetings in June. The committee will offer its advice to the ultimate decision-maker, Dr. Grant Higginson, the state's public health officer. Pryor questioned PeaceHealth's reason for protesting the proposed rule change, but Terrett said PeaceHealth has no ulterior motives. "If we were in Salem asking the state to change the rules for us for one instance, the leadership at McKenzie-Willamette would be voicing the same concerns," he said. "Given Triad's resources and the way the rules are written, if they have to go through the certificate of need process, that would not be a problem. That is not something we would oppose." McKenzie-Willamette officials said this winter that they'd like to move to Eugene in part to escape the shadow of a hospital that PeaceHealth plans to build in Springfield's Gateway district. McKenzie-Willamette has struggled financially, but its pending partnership with hospital giant Triad gives it the means to survive and build a new 114-bed hospital, though it hasn't picked a site in Eugene yet. Triad is the nation's third-largest for-profit hospital chain, operating 48 hospitals and 14 ambulatory surgery centers across the country. McKenzie-Willamette filed a federal antitrust lawsuit in January 2002 against PeaceHealth, which is based in Bellevue, Wash., and has six hospitals in the Northwest. The suit alleges that PeaceHealth competed unfairly for exclusive insurance contracts in an effort to drive McKenzie-Willamette out of business. PeaceHealth denies the allegations. (end) http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/05/16/a1.hospitals.0516.html Attorney general will review hospital merger By Tim Christie The Register-Guard, 5/16/03, Page A11 The fate of McKenzie-Willamette Hospital's proposed partnership with Texas-based Triad Hospitals now rests with the Oregon Attorney General's Office. The hospital submitted copies of its agreements with Triad to the attorney general this week. State law requires the state agency to review any transaction that transfers the assets of a not-for-profit group to a for-profit company. McKenzie-Willamette and Triad signed a letter of intent last January to form a joint venture to operate the existing hospital and build a replacement hospital. McKenzie-Willamette and Triad plan to close their deal after the Attorney General's Office approves the agreements, spokeswoman Rosie Pryor said Thursday. The documents submitted to the attorney general don't include some details that are still being prepared, such as an appraisal of McKenzie-Willamette's assets. The hospital plans to forward the appraisal, prepared by an Atlanta firm, as soon as it's available. The attorney general has indicated he'll obtain an independent appraiser's opinion, Pryor said. Details from the documents include: Assets and liabilities the two partners will put into the joint venture, such as land, buildings, equipment and cash. It also clarifies what each side isn't contributing; for instance, McKenzie-Willamette will retain its cash assets to pay off its bonded debt. How the new company will be governed and operate. A six-member governing board will oversee operations, with three members appointed by McKenzie-Willamette and three appointed by Triad. The McKenzie-Willamette members hold exclusive rights to terminate the hospital's CEO and to name the board chairman. A promissory note, which clarifies Triad's intent to immediately contribute $20 million of its $80 million commitment to the joint venture. The $20 million will be used to operate the existing hospital and to add unspecified services. The balance will be used when needed to build a new hospital. McKenzie-Willamette's right to demand that Triad buy out the community's 20 percent ownership share in the joint venture at any time from the start of the joint venture to 10 years after a replacement hospital opens. McKenzie-Willamette also has the right to buy additional shares in the new company, up to 49 percent. Some information wasn't included to protect what McKenzie-Willamette says is proprietary business information. (end) http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/05/16/a11.hospitalside.0516.html Hospital Facility Authority gets update on hospitals' status By Jaime Sherman Springfield News, 5/17/03 Are you selling? Are you moving to Eugene? Are you going to win your lawsuit? Are you really going to build a new hospital? Community members have pelted McKenzie-Willamette Hospital directors with question after question about the proposed partnership with Triad Hospitals Inc., and on Wednesday morning, members of the city's Hospital Facility Authority got a few answers. The authority, which was created by the city of Springfield for issuing municipal bonds for hospital construction, convenes once a year to review the authority's audit report. The report wasn't complete Wednesday, but hospital CEO Roy Orr updated the five-member board on the lawsuit McKenzie-Willamette filed against PeaceHealth for quelling competition and on the "due-diligence" process to partner with Triad. In January 2002, McKenzie-Willamette filed an antitrust lawsuit against PeaceHealth, seeking $22 million in damages and asking PeaceHealth to divest itself of PeaceHealth Medical Group in Eugene. McKenzie-Willamette claims the larger hospital repressed competition in Lane County by exclusively contracting with insurance provider Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield. A federal jury trial is scheduled for October in Portland. "I can easily say we remain confident and maybe even more so a year later," Orr said of winning the lawsuit. McKenzie-Willamette and PeaceHealth have had settlement conferences without a successful conclusion, Orr said. "We remain open to appropriate settlement," he added. Last year at this time, McKenzie-Willamette Hospital directors began searching for a financial partner, and at the end of January, a letter of intent was signed with Triad officials. Jointly McKenzie-Willamette and Triad directors are working to formalize the partnership. They are waiting for Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers to grant the formation of a for-profit hospital in the Springfield-Eugene area. "I think there are a few people in the community who think we're contemplating a sale," Orr told the authority board. "In fact, we are not." McKenzie-Willamette will retain a 20-percent interest in the proposed limited liability hospital corporation and maintain a nonprofit foundation to offer charitable care in the community. Myers has asked to preside over a public hearing on the proposed partnership and will then rule on the request. The hearing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on June 24 at the Willamalane Adult Activity Center. The public record will remain open until July 9. If approved, Triad will move forward on plans to build a $80-million hospital for McKenzie-Willamette in the metropolitan area. Sites have been considered in Eugene and Springfield, with Glenwood being the viable option in Springfield, Orr said. "It's no secret. It's Glenwood when it comes to Springfield's jurisdiction," he said. The best potential sites consist of about 35 acres and have good access. And the question many people are curious about and Councilor Anne Ballew asked during the Wednesday meeting: When are you moving? "It really is contingent on finding the right land," Orr said. If the ideal land is secured, the move could take place within three years. The new hospital would probably retain the current name. "We think that has value, and continuity has value," Orr said. (end) http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/05/16/local/news3.txt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEALTH CARE Latest word on privacy: Medical professionals and patients are adjusting to new federal rules Eleanor Otley, a retired Eugene teacher, knows about these new federal medical privacy rules, but she's not sure what good they'll do her. After picking up a prescription from a Hiron's Drug Store, she said she wasn't too concerned that her medical privacy was ever in peril. (more...) http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/05/12/a1.hipaa.0512.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COST OF HEALTH CARE Bill would apply budget bandage to Oregon Health Plan SALEM -- A House committee on Tuesday approved a key step in an effort to streamline the budget-challenged Oregon Health Plan. The bill deals more with the logistics of health care delivery than with the broader issue of how many Oregonians will be covered by Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance plan for low-income people. (more...) http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/105291353197590.xml -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COST OF PUBLIC SERVICES Committee looks at siphoning funds The Eugene Budget Committee's dilemma is now a matter of stretching $635,562 in scraped-together revenue to cover $986,019 worth of city programs and services. After a marathon meeting Wednesday night -- and nearly seven hours over its last two meetings -- the committee is ready to begin its budgetary triage process next week. In meetings next Monday and Wednesday, the committee will review at least 14 services that have been targeted for reduction and decide which to restore with the money available and which to let die. (more...) http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/05/15/d1.cr.eugenebudget.0515.html Bobby Green: Higher beer tax could fund services Recent surveys show that 71 percent to 81 percent of Oregonians favor increasing the beer tax if the revenue is targeted specifically for alcohol prevention and treatment programs. (more...) http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/05/15/a11.ed.col.green.0515.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEARBY DEVELOPMENTS Area nodal development hits road block A plan for reducing vehicle miles traveled in Springfield hit a few potholes Monday as the City Council reviewed a consultant's report on implementing nodal development in six areas of the city. Nodal, or mixed-used, development places residential, retail and employment uses in a confined area near transit lines with the goal of increasing reliance on buses, bicycles and walking. Although the city has identified downtown Springfield, Glenwood, Mohawk, RiverBend, Jasper-Natron north and Jasper-Natron south for nodal development, the City Council isn't any closer to approving the areas and moving forward on a plan to implement nodal zoning. (more...) http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/05/14/local/news3.txt Land use application fees could increase Developers could soon pay a little extra to have city planners and engineers process their land use applications if city councilors approve a 100-percent cost recovery plan for land use applications, consultations and drainage alteration permits. Although disliked by developers, the fee increases could pay off for developers in the long term as city staff process requests more quickly than in past months. (more...) http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/05/14/local/news1.txt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRANSPORTATION Road-use fee to appear on ballot Looks like Springfield voters will get the chance to vote on the city's new road-user fee. The Lane County Board of Elections confirmed Friday that Commissioner Bill Dwyer's petition to put the issue before voters included 1,222 valid signatures, 28 more than necessary. Next up, the city must put together the necessary paperwork and get the council's approval to place it on the ballot. Dwyer wants the issue to go before voters in the Sept. 16 election, but the elections board requires a 90-day period between when an issue is placed on the ballot and the election itself. If council doesn't approve the measure until its June 16 meeting, things will come down to the wire. (more...) http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/05/17/b2.cr.spcitybeat.0517.html Lauren Heitzman: Road fee should go to voters The city of Eugene is about to impose a huge new tax that you probably know little about. It's called the Transportation System Maintenance Fee, and no one is exempt. This "road tax" is intended to pay for maintaining city roads. The city does have a serious problem paying for road maintenance, but the unanswered questions are so troubling that Lane County Commissioner Bobby Green and I are sponsoring a petition to put the issue before the voters. The community deserves to be involved. The biggest problem is that the Eugene City Council adopted this tax without voter approval. After first rejecting the tax last summer, the council changed its mind and adopted it in December -- using the public hearing held five months earlier in July. While the ordinance authorizing the tax was adopted by the council in full compliance with all laws and procedures, most people were not aware the council's action was going to take place. (more...) http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/05/18/ed.col.roadtax.0518.html Roadwork to start in 2005 Change is likely on the way for a hazardous stretch of South 42nd Street, but it could be 2005 before shovel meets dirt. The City Council is expected in the coming months to assume jurisdiction of the roadway from Main Street to Jasper Road, freeing the Oregon Department of Transportation from maintaining the road. ODOT would contribute $4.1 million for sidewalks, bike lanes, lighting and a traffic signal, which residents say would greatly improve the safety of a road where last year a boy was killed while riding his bicycle. If the council signs off and ODOT frees up the money this fall, the city would begin design work, and construction would be expected in spring 2005, Transportation Manager Nick Arnis said. (end) http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/05/17/b2.cr.spcitybeat.0517.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OTHER NEWS Roast set for local celebrities Direction Service of Eugene plans an Inaugural Celebrity Roast from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on May 30 at the DoubleTree Hotel, 3280 Gateway St. Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey and Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken will be roasted and lambasted by special guests and honorary emcee Dennis Nakata. All-Star Roasters include Alan Yordy of PeaceHealth, Mike Kelly of the city of Springfield, Brad Leiken of Oak Hills Golf Club, Dave Hauser of the Eug-ene Chamber of Commerce, Lane County Commissioner Bobby Green Sr. and Gene Manley of Manley Administra-tive Services. Tickets are on sale. The fund-raiser will allow Direction Service to continue to provide services to individuals and families with special needs. Tickets are $50 per person or $500 for a company table host. Call 686-5060 or visit www.directionservice.org. (end) http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/05/16/local/news6.txt