Israel relies nearly 100 percent on Pfizer vaccines, while the U.S. also has a prevalence of Moderna and J&J vaccines. Although Spectrum and Beaumont have characterized their combination as a merger, Spectrum is effectively taking over Beaumont. 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. Freese Decker is likely assured a big pay increase and bonus. The scuttlebutt around town is that Beaumont directors believe that a merger is the only way to get rid of Fox. 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. 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. 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. 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. Today is indeed a historic day. By that measure Fox, Wilson, and Wood have poor performance scorecards. Instead, they allowed Spectrum to acquire Beaumont, creating Michigans biggest hospital system, as well as the states biggest employer. Fox said Beaumont plans to ask for military assistance to support its other facilities. Beaumont Troy also operates at a reduced capacity. The expansion is apromising sign that Spectrum is willing to commit money and resources to expand and upgrade Beaumonts facilities and reverse the decline the hospital system has suffered from Foxs extensive cost-cutting during his seven-year reign. 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. If Michigan had a competent attorney general or a governor with a healthcare interest beyond abortion rights, the deal would have been derailed. In Dearborn, the nursing shortage is so acute that an ICU operates at 60 percent capacity. Spectrum CEO Tina Freese Decker will lead the combined company. The merger rationale was that hospitals benefitted from getting bigger and achieving economies of scale. But ER nurses are angry with Melissa Foreman Lovell, Troys chief nursing officer, who they say rarely appears at the hospital. Beaumonts leadership page only features a photo and bio of Julie Fream, who on paper at least seems credible: Fream is the president and CEO of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, an industry nonprofit, and she has a Harvard MBA. 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. I only see the potential for massive financial loss., Freed warns Spectrums directors: When you sign the documents that will permanently change this region, your signature will forever hold you accountable for the repercussions.. Beaumont at one point claimed to have 38,000 employees, but with layoffs and unfilled positions its not clear how many employees remain. By Eric Starkman Beaumont Health CEO John Fox has no shame. The writer, a Los Angeles freelancer, is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs atStarkman Approved. Fortunately, Freese Deckers western Michigan businesses were healthy enough to allow Spectrum to eke out an operating profit of $119.7 million despite Beaumonts losses. Beaumont Beaumont employees and vendors are encouraged to reach out, with confidentiality assured. Newsweek Ranks 3 Beaumont Hospitals Among Best in U.S. One Down, Three to Go. We are incredibly excited about the impact the BHSH Beaumont Health Nurse Scholar program will have in health care and for our communities.. Susan Grant, the chief nursing officer for all of Beaumont, has her primary home in Atlanta. Have you tried to find Beaumont Healths financial statements? Freed asks. 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 . 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. The Michigan Nurses Union vowed it would no longer seek to organize at Beaumont because of the companys climate of fear.. 'The Week That Was:' Will Kristina Karamo Seriously Damage Michigan's Republican Party? 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. To support Deadline Detroit's independent journalism, please sign up for a $3a month membership or a one-time donation. Turns out Beaumonts reported $4 billion reserve also dwindled by the time Fox turned over the keys to Freese Decker. Copyrightdocument.write(new Date().getFullYear());Deadline Detroit, Inc. - All Rights Reserved, A Zoom video conference call that was leaked this week, a month membership or a one-time donation, Sh** Show At Beaumont Endoscopy Suite In Chaos Amid Nursing Shortage, C-Section Horror at Beaumont Lawsuit Claims Surgeon Left Sponge in Patients Abdomen, Former Spectrum CFO Trashes Beaumont Merger and Warns of 'Massive Financial Loss', Beaumont Health's Merger Partner Reveals its Disingenuous, Deceptive and Disrespectful Nature, Spectrum Healths Black Employees Explore Class Action Lawsuit Alleging Systemic Racism, Beware! 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. This columnist, a Los Angeles freelancer, is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs atStarkman Approved. All of Spectrums top executives are based in Grand Rapids, which is understandable since none of Foxs top lieutenants remained with the company. Starkman: Why Beaumont's John Fox Could Haul More Than $30 Million Back to Atlanta Tweet. BHSH will be the biggest hospital network in Michigan and the states biggest employer. When you sign the documents that will permanently change this region, your signature will forever hold you accountable for the repercussions, Freed said in a letterhe posted on LinkedIn. They are looking at diversity as a numbers game. That resulted in Beaumont staff nurses working alongside nurses getting paid considerably more money doing the same job, prompting more staff nurses to leave. Bloomberg on Wednesday posted an editorial warning about the growing merger trend among hospitals, noting that it leads to higher insurance prices. To the distaste of the pediatric heads colleagues, Susick walked him out of the hospital in front of his staff. 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. So What? By Eric Starkman Beaumont Health CEO John Fox has no shame. 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. Disgruntled Staff. Beaumont was once mostly staffed by highly skilled veterans, among the best in healthcare. Despite warning the pandemic would destroy U.S. hospitals, Beaumont overall had a very good year in 2020, increasing its reserve by $1 billion to $3.5 billion. Also, if you wish to support Deadline Detroit's. Though a far cry from what Beaumont Health was before CEO John Fox and COO Carolyn Wilson arrived, Spectrum is a quality healthcare company overseen by a responsible board comprised of directors who are pillars of western Michigans business communities. The Detroit News. Its totally bizarre.. Less readily understood is why Spectrum would want to do a deal. For years, former Beaumont CEO John Fox was paid more than $6 million annually because of his supposedly deft fiscal management. The merger could still fall apart if Spectrum has a top-notch duediligence team. 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. Grand Rapids business community is small and tight knit, and Spectrum is a major employer in western Michigan. Beaumont employees and vendors are encouraged to reach out, with confidentiality assured. Beaumont Dearborn also is receiving military assistance to help the hospital manage its Covid patient load. In what will likely be his final FU to Metro Detroit, Fox will depart on Friday. But Spectrums management is 100 percent running the show. To support Deadline Detroit's independent. To support Deadline Detroit's independent journalism, please sign up for a $3a month membership or a one-time donation. Its a vicious cycle, one that I doubt Spectrum has figured out how to solve. A company is headquartered where the CEO is based. Under Susicks leadership, Beaumont Royal Oak precipitously declined, and internally she was viewed as a Fox sycophant. Beaumont is awaiting approval to be rescued by Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids. Spectrums CEO Freese Decker joined Spectrum in 2002 as an administrative fellow, a program designed to train masters level graduates the administrative aspects of a healthcare facility. Also fostering ill will is Beaumonts mandate requiring that all employees be vaccinated or be fired. Disgruntled Staff. And that has resulted in the emergency rooms of Beaumont Royal Oak and Troy becoming so overwhelmed they are unprepared to handle unexpected catastrophes required of them as regional trauma centers. Based on what was paid to the CEO of one of Beaumonts predecessor companies, Fox possibly stands to receive more than $30 million to sail into the Georgia sunset. Hiring nurses for Henry Fords flagship Detroit hospital is a more formidable challenge because some candidates fear working in Detroit. Yet neither Whitmer or Nessel demanded any diversity or health equity commitments from Spectrum as a condition of its takeover. As a result, patients requiring hospital admission must remain in the ER, diverting beds and staff normally dedicated to treating emergencies. Carey has spent more than 20 years as a . A source told me that Barbee was highly regarded among Spectrums Black employees but was frustrated by his inability to achieve meaningful change. 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. To support Deadline Detroit's independent. Beaumont employees and vendors are encouraged to reach out, with confidentiality assured. If the proposed merger goes through, seven Beaumont board members will serve on the board of the combined companies. The good news is that Beaumont isnt overrun with critically ill Covid patients, which suggests that vaccines are doing what they were intended to do: Prevent people who contract the disease from becoming critically ill and dying. The FTC decision to implicitly rubber stamp Spectrums takeover underscores the weakness of President Bidens leadership and the little respect he commands, even among his own appointees. Virtually all of Fox's senior management team resigned or was . The only aspect of the deal worth cheering about is that Fox will finally be removed from Beaumont, but the company shouldnt have to lose its independence to make that happen. Yet the Leapfrog safety rating of Henry Fords flagship hospital in Detroit is a C, while its ambulatory center in more affluent West Bloomfield enjoys an A. HFH chief Lassiter is Black, and almost half of the flagship hospitals staff is nonwhite. The once proud and respected hospital system merged with two lesser ones in 2015, paving the way for Fox, who was determined to sell Beaumont from the moment he arrived. A credible and competent board would have fired Fox, Wilson, and chief medical officer David Wood Jr. after internal surveys last year revealed the majority of Beaumont doctors and nurses had no confidence in them. Nurses employed by staffing agencies are paid more than staff nurses performing the same functions. Studies also show that hospital mergers also result in a decline in patient care. Maybe they dont teach this at the University of Iowa from where Freese Decker received her Master of Health Administration, but when a hospital spends nearly $2 million as John Fox did to intimidate nurses at his flagship Royal Oak hospital and derailed a unionizing attempt, it creates bad blood. Copyrightdocument.write(new Date().getFullYear());Deadline Detroit, Inc. - All Rights Reserved, Michael Freed doesn't "see any value in this merger. Other state attorney generals have also shown a willingness to take on the powerful interests of U.S. hospital companies. The resignations were due to working conditions and management dissatisfaction, not Covid. Beaumont CFO John Kerndl Resigns, Beaumont Nurse Anesthetists Union Drive Could Save Imploding Hospital from Further Demise, Layoffs. That Fream will serve as chair of the board overseeing a combined Spectrum and Beaumont is a disgrace and underscores Michigans poor leadership. 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. There are some serious issues with NorthStar Anesthesia, the Texas-based outsourcing company that Wilson bet the farm on and losing badly so far. Is that still on track given Beaumonts oceans of red ink? Inexperienced nurses Copyrightdocument.write(new Date().getFullYear());Deadline Detroit, Inc. - All Rights Reserved. By Eric Starkman. I know little about Fream, who served as Beaumonts vice chair for several years. On Thursday he posted an open letteron his LinkedIn page to Spectrums board implicitly questioning Beaumont Health's financials and warning that merging with the Southfield-based hospital network is ill advised. The Freep quoted Oakland University dean of nursing Judy Didion as saying it will take about a year to build the infrastructure until the school can begin to admit additional students. Fox said Beaumonts lack of private rooms is a large critical area that has haunted us for decades. He said a comprehensive expansion plan would be finalized by year-end. 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. 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