Task Force Proposes Greater Role For Government in "Health" than the Hospital With Less Certain Benefits

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Brian Essi
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Task Force Proposes Greater Role For Government in "Health" than the Hospital With Less Certain Benefits

Postby Brian Essi » Sun Feb 07, 2016 11:16 am

http://www.onelakewood.com/wp-content/u ... 2.2015.pdf

The Active Living and Recreation Task Force final gave its report and recommendations to City Council on Monday Feb 1, 2016---It appears on the City website dated December, 2015---delayed for 8 months due to the delay in the hospital decision.

The Task force was created in early 2014 while Summers was secretly planning to demolition of the hospital.

Hats off to the Task Force members for their hard work and complex and detailed findings and recommendations.

Among the many recommendations is to have a Health Impact Assessment conducted by the Active Living Advisory Council for all major land use and infrastructure decisions with the aid of the Department of Health.

Terry Kilroy, M.D., many others and I independently advocated for a "Healthcare Task Force" to help City Council in the hospital decision. Those calls were ignored.

How long was the Task Force's recommendation in draft and why wasn't this recommendation issued back in June 2015 as planned?

Please note that many on City Council, e.g. Tom Bullock advocated against the City having a significant future role in healthcare stating that it was not "realistic"--that was a major rational for doing away with the hospital.

A review of the Task Force's Report reveals that they are recommending the City be far more ambitious, pervasive and involved in the "health and wellness" of the residents than the operation of a community hospital---and with much less tangible and uncertain benefits.

The benefits of the hospital were clear and quantifiable--we will shortly see how the loss of it directly and immediately impacts the lives of residents and the financial well being of the City and local businesses.

As City Council "moves forward" with the Task Force's recommendations, the initial questions that should be asked are:

How involved can our City government AFFORD to be involved in the "health and wellness" of its residents now that they have dismantled and given away $120M+ in in healthcare assets?

How can we measure the benefits of the Task Force's plans in relation to the taxpayer costs?


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Re: Task Force Proposes Greater Role For Government in "Health" than the Hospital With Less Certain Benefits

Postby Lori Allen _ » Sun Feb 07, 2016 12:27 pm

If the city wants to get involved with our health and wellness, it appears they should start close to home with AA meetings and rehab!


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Re: Task Force Proposes Greater Role For Government in "Health" than the Hospital With Less Certain Benefits

Postby Jim O'Bryan » Sun Feb 07, 2016 2:47 pm

Brian

As I stated years ago, Soccer fields.

Do you really think it is all just happenstance.

Hospital closes, to open area with 2, count them two non-profits dedicated to health and wellness?

The Lakewood Active Living Task Force?

Rec Center drawings?

And this report?

Once again small group sold our hospital to get money to invest in magic beans with their friends.

Watch the board members slide one more time, to the other groups. Look at back at when they quit what and said what.

A huge and massive charade to redistribute the wealth up and sell out the very should of this town.

Some of the oldest posts on this forum, 12 years ago speak exactly about this, them and their plans.

It is just amazing they do not trust the residents enough to just tell us.

.


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Brian Essi
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Re: Task Force Proposes Greater Role For Government in "Health" than the Hospital With Less Certain Benefits

Postby Brian Essi » Sun Feb 07, 2016 4:10 pm

Jim O'Bryan wrote:Soccer fields

invest in magic beans

they do not trust the residents enough to just tell us.

.


Jim,

They (Team Summers) don't respect us (the people) so why would you expect them to "trust" us?

There is a lot in the report that I can agree with--but It will take a huge investment in "magic beans" to change the habits of the obese, chronically ill, drug addicted, elderly, busy hardworking folks, etc.


"Green space" is mentioned several times in the report so your prediction rings true. If more soccer fields are needed, where do we get the land and money when even the Mayor admits we just lost 800 to 900 taxpayer jobs and we have an empty building for at least 2.5 years?


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Re: Task Force Proposes Greater Role For Government in "Health" than the Hospital With Less Certain Benefits

Postby Jim O'Bryan » Mon Feb 08, 2016 10:14 am

Brian Essi wrote:Jim,

They (Team Summers) don't respect us (the people) so why would you expect them to "trust" us?

There is a lot in the report that I can agree with--but It will take a huge investment in "magic beans" to change the habits of the obese, chronically ill, drug addicted, elderly, busy hardworking folks, etc.

"Green space" is mentioned several times in the report so your prediction rings true. If more soccer fields are needed, where do we get the land and money when even the Mayor admits we just lost 800 to 900 taxpayer jobs and we have an empty building for at least 2.5 years?



Brian

The other way is to take of the Recreation Department from the Schools. Hence the campaign against it, and those that need to build, destroying yet another institution to build upon the ashes.

LCA needs access to activity space, and LSA needs easier access to activity space, and the new Soccer thing needs access to ...

Then, there is the good paying jobs managing the non-profits and the access, and you got a pretty good gravy train. If you look there is a very small group of people that are always looking for ways to put themselves in the middle of non-profit money in this town. The city is being built on 40% off the top.

I am still on course to be 100% correct on the whole debacle.

.


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Lori Allen _
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Re: Task Force Proposes Greater Role For Government in "Health" than the Hospital With Less Certain Benefits

Postby Lori Allen _ » Mon Feb 08, 2016 10:30 am

Excluding Ed Farve, the rest of the school board are Summer's people. Why would anyone think that they would not be a part of all this? At this point, I think there are bigger issues to deal with than the schools. SLH does not seem to have a grasp on what is in front of them now, lets not make it more difficult. Yes, the Active Living Task Force was brought up at meetings, and as usual, the two leaders ignored it.


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Re: Task Force Proposes Greater Role For Government in "Health" than the Hospital With Less Certain Benefits

Postby Corey Rossen » Mon Feb 08, 2016 10:54 am

Side bar -

If anyone really wants to make money through sporting facilities -the real money is in indoor space. Indoor, airplane hanger-like complexes are extremely busy year round, not just in the winter. Facilities like T3 (North Ridgeville) have a steady stream of people willing to spend money and use their space. They have anywhere from 4 - 10 different groups renting space per hour, everyday. It is a gold mine. Places like Force Sports in Rocky River are run down but still are busy.

If the City and the Rec Dept are in it for space, they should look at creating indoor complexes along the strip of Detroit Avenue abandoned by car lots.

On topic -

I understand your points but defer back to my side bar if they were really interested in helping the community while earning some cash along the way.


Corey Rossen

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Re: Task Force Proposes Greater Role For Government in "Health" than the Hospital With Less Certain Benefits

Postby Jim O'Bryan » Mon Feb 08, 2016 11:04 am

Corey Rossen wrote:Side bar -

If anyone really wants to make money through sporting facilities -the real money is in indoor space. Indoor, airplane hanger-like complexes are extremely busy year round, not just in the winter. Facilities like T3 (North Ridgeville) have a steady stream of people willing to spend money and use their space. They have anywhere from 4 - 10 different groups renting space per hour, everyday. It is a gold mine. Places like Force Sports in Rocky River are run down but still are busy.

If the City and the Rec Dept are in it for space, they should look at creating indoor complexes along the strip of Detroit Avenue abandoned by car lots.

On topic -

I understand your points but defer back to my side bar if they were really interested in helping the community while earning some cash along the way.


Corey

I would argue we cannot afford a "rec center" though you are right about indoor.

I believe the North Ridgeville facility is the only one in the area, breaking even. Most are like Brookpark, where the city is moving City Hall into the Rec Center so as they don't go broke.

We have a lot to make up for what we lost economically, has anyone found out, if the other downtown anchor, the University of Akron is expanding?

.


Jim O'Bryan
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Corey Rossen
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Re: Task Force Proposes Greater Role For Government in "Health" than the Hospital With Less Certain Benefits

Postby Corey Rossen » Mon Feb 08, 2016 11:31 am

Jim O'Bryan wrote:
Corey Rossen wrote:Side bar -

If anyone really wants to make money through sporting facilities -the real money is in indoor space. Indoor, airplane hanger-like complexes are extremely busy year round, not just in the winter. Facilities like T3 (North Ridgeville) have a steady stream of people willing to spend money and use their space. They have anywhere from 4 - 10 different groups renting space per hour, everyday. It is a gold mine. Places like Force Sports in Rocky River are run down but still are busy.

If the City and the Rec Dept are in it for space, they should look at creating indoor complexes along the strip of Detroit Avenue abandoned by car lots.

On topic -

I understand your points but defer back to my side bar if they were really interested in helping the community while earning some cash along the way.


Corey

I would argue we cannot afford a "rec center" though you are right about indoor.

I believe the North Ridgeville facility is the only one in the area, breaking even. Most are like Brookpark, where the city is moving City Hall into the Rec Center so as they don't go broke.

We have a lot to make up for what we lost economically, has anyone found out, if the other downtown anchor, the University of Akron is expanding?

.

A "rec center" would be a dream come true for the health side of me, but the business side of me sees the indoor space as a potential profit. The "rec center" has a lot of overhead expenses and "niceties" whereas the airplane hangar has drop down nets in place of walls and room for simultaneous, multiple renters. It also possesses the equivalent of the value and high rates of ice time for skaters, hockey teams and skating lessons. If T3 is really the only profitable one, the others are doing something very wrong. I have been to several other indoor facilities in the area, they are always busy and always on the verge of looking run down (but I think it really is the result of "hard use" by kids, athletes, and others).


Corey Rossen

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Re: Task Force Proposes Greater Role For Government in "Health" than the Hospital With Less Certain Benefits

Postby Lori Allen _ » Mon Feb 08, 2016 11:34 am

I checked with the University of Akron and was told that they will be in Lakewood until their lease runs out which is in approximately two years. They may look for a bigger location in Lakewood, but, at this time no decision has been made.


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Re: Task Force Proposes Greater Role For Government in "Health" than the Hospital With Less Certain Benefits

Postby Jim O'Bryan » Mon Feb 08, 2016 1:28 pm

Lori Allen _ wrote:I checked with the University of Akron and was told that they will be in Lakewood until their lease runs out which is in approximately two years. They may look for a bigger location in Lakewood, but, at this time no decision has been made.


Now it gets interesting.

Lease runs out in two years, looking for more space. I believe they partner with the Clinic as well, as they do here. A city turning ever younger as us baby boomers errrrrr let's just say move on...

One of the most under exploited things about Lakewood is our density it would seem it has been noticed by more than the Clinic.

.


Jim O'Bryan
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Vince Frantz
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Re: Task Force Proposes Greater Role For Government in "Health" than the Hospital With Less Certain Benefits

Postby Vince Frantz » Tue Feb 09, 2016 10:06 am

All these meetings were open and we had lots of guests coming and contributing. Any of you could have come. I could only help until my schedule prevented it but having spent most of my weekends in other cities' facilities and struggling to find space in Lakewood to practice or even invest in I would concur with Corey.

But this is not only about health and wellness but housing values. Just like Cle Metroparks is doubling down on investments in the core city in order to help their own funding (property values) what entity do you propose should be working to make Lakewood the most liveable, active community? Should Cleveland Metroparks? Is anyone running for school board to do that? The buck stops with the city. The School Rec Dept is fantastic at the things it was designed to do but it doesn't cover all of a communities' needs and has no mandate to do so.

We saw story after story of passionate volunteers starting their own groups to fill in where the Rec wasn't interested with many people taking on more risk than they should to do it. But many of these programs were exactly why folks stayed in Lakewood. If not for Saturday soccer by the LSA I don't know that I would have met as many of my neighbors. I don't know that my kids would have signed up for any other thing and I would have just rolled out of town like so many others that have done so.

However, for those of you that don't have kids at home anymore or don't find yourself standing on the sidelines these days, consider that 60% of the time we are standing on the sideline in another city with nicer facilities.

We don't want to copy what Westlake has. We just want some damn space to play.


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Re: Task Force Proposes Greater Role For Government in "Health" than the Hospital With Less Certain Benefits

Postby Bill Call » Tue Feb 09, 2016 12:04 pm

Vince Frantz wrote:We don't want to copy what Westlake has. We just want some damn space to play.


Did you have to destroy a hospital to do it?

Lakewood residents are being taken by ambulance to St. Johns in Westlake. St. Johns is overwhelmed and will soon be expanding.


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Re: Task Force Proposes Greater Role For Government in "Health" than the Hospital With Less Certain Benefits

Postby Vince Frantz » Tue Feb 09, 2016 12:32 pm

I never mentioned the Hospital. If someone tried to connect the two issues then shame on them - both for and against.

No amount of recreation is going to replace the lost income tax. No amount of extra sit ups will reduce the need for emergency services to be on hand instead of ferrying people to a faraway hospital. Maybe a few restaurants will benefit from new programming but recreation is NOT a replacement for jobs. The hospital closing is a net loss for the city and the road ahead will get worse before it gets better. Why so many mayors from 1996 on didn't see this coming I don't know. If they did - and saw it as a chance for a pet project then you know where to vote.

But there is a vast majority of people who value the lifestyle that Lakewood affords and can easily separate the issues in our heads. Regardless of Cleveland Clinic's tactics to secure the west side health care market, we still live and breath in Lakewood. Many of the contributors to this task force opposed the closing and the Mayor's handling of the situation. Many that support the closing still don't want their tax dollars (or school funds) to support recreational thingies.

Bill - I sat next to you at the skatepark meeting when 6 of 7 council people threatened to shut the project down at the 11th hour and the city rallied to support it and all 6 changed their votes right in front of our eyes. I saw this rec task force as a way to continue to be involved and bring all we learned from that experience - regardless of my feelings about the hospital. This is yet another problem that will pester the next mayor and the next school board and the next rec leaders so why wait till the guard changes to show up?



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