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Finkbeiner and other
residents expressed their concern about “the uncertainty of
what was taking place – with doctors and departments leaving
for Toledo Hospital.”
Finkbeiner mentioned that
he had shared those concerns with UT Executive Vice
President for Clinical Affairs and Dean of the College of
Medicine and Life Sciences Christopher Cooper. Dr. Cooper
advised Finkbeiner that South Toledoans “need to tell us
what they want,” the former mayor reported. As a result, a
series of town hall meetings have been organized, starting
Saturday, January 3, 2020.
“Here in South Toledo we
have this hospital – this teaching school, this healing
hospital, this research hospital,” said Finkbeiner. “We
can’t afford to see the build up of Toledo Hospital at the
expense of this healing, teaching, research hospital.”
“We are wide awake and not
sleeping on this issue,” said Randy Desposito, president of
AFSCME Local 2415. “UTMC has been vital to South Toledo for
a long time.”
Desposito noted that,
until recently, information provided by UT showed that the
UTMC facility had been financially profitable for years.
Recently however, information has been leaking out, he said,
that the facility is losing money, justification for the
movement of personnel. Such information has not been backed
up by financial statements and such statements have been
requested by the Local with no luck so far.
“We want transparency,”
said Patrick Jennings, another officer with AFSCME 2415.
“But we can’t get them to sit down and talk to us.”
Finkbeiner noted that the
Cancer Center on the UTMC campus was the best such facility
in northwest Ohio. “We don’t want anyone to overlook the
role of this hospital in South Toledo. We are not against
ProMedica and its growth – we are for this community and
UTMC.
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