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RESOLUTION NO. 5299 BY:Messrs. Magnotto, McBride,
<br /> Salmon, Usher, Brockman, Brown
<br /> Chinnock
<br />A RESOLUTION expressing the opposition of the Council of the City of Lakewood, Ohio
<br />to the construction of a new 200-bed hospital in the City of Westlake, Ohio to be
<br />known as the Westlake Health Care Campus and urging the rejection of such proposal
<br />by the appropriate governmental ~gencies.
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, in February, 1978 the Metropolitan Health Planning Corporation and the
<br />Ohio Department of Health approved the construction of a new 200-bed hospital in
<br />the City of Westlake, Ohio to be known as the Westlake Health Care Campus and the re-
<br />modeling of the hospital of one of the sponsors at an aggregate cost of $43,488,000, and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, this approval in essence contravenes the findings of the trained technical
<br />planning staff of Metropolitan Health Planning Corporation which concluded that the
<br />new project is not needed, fails to contain costs and may not be financially feasible,
<br />and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, FairviewGeneral Hospital, one of the three sponsors of the project, has
<br />reconsidered its participation in light of the mounting costs of the project and the
<br />adverse impact of such costs on health care consun~rs and has detemined to withdraw
<br />from the project, and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, existing west shore hospitals have a declining rate of occupancy due to
<br />increased emphm~is on out-patient and home health care, federally mandated reviews
<br />which result in shorter hospital stays, public health education, and public awareness
<br />of hospital costs while at the same time projected population increases in the area
<br />have not materialized and are no longer expected to do so, and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, 200 unneeded beds in the west shore area would further increase the number
<br />of empty beds in western Cuyahoga County and eastern Lorain Co~mty hospitals; mid the
<br />costs of maintaining %unoccupied beds from which there is no income would have to be
<br />met in higher daily rates to all hospital patients, thus driving up the already
<br />expensive health insurance premiums for employers and individuals in northeast Ohio, and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, in March, 1978 a survey of 689 west Cuyahoga and Lorain County physicians,
<br />two-thirds of the 423 physicians who returned the questionnaire voted against a
<br />200-bed hospital in Westlake, Ohio, and
<br />
<br />WI~, with increasing concern about health care costs, every effort must be directed
<br />to containing, not increasing costs; now, therefore,
<br />
<br />BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CCIJNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD, STATE OF OHIO:
<br />
<br />Section 1. That the Council of the City of Lakewood, Ohio strenuously opposes the
<br />construction of the proposed Westlake Health Care C~npus and urges Bay View Hospital
<br />and St. Jolm Hospital to withdraw from the project and further the Council of the
<br />City of Lakewood, Ohio strongly urges the U.S. Department of Health, Education and
<br />Welfare to review mid reject the proposal approved by the Metropolitan Health Planning
<br />Corporation and the Ohio Department of Health, as being totally in conflict with
<br />principles of sound health care planning.
<br />
<br />Section 2. That the Clerk of Conncil be and she is hereby authorized and directed to
<br />forward a certified copy of this resolution to the Metropolitan Health Planning
<br />Corporation, the Ohio Department of Health, the Regional tteatth Administrator of HEW
<br />Region 5, the ~ Health Resoarces Administrator and Mr. Joseph Califano, Secretary
<br />of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
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<br /> pproved: / ¢ ?
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