We
lost.
What's NEXT?
Know
Your Options
Activities since Arbitration ruling--
Recent
Attorney General Ruling
Citizens'
Response to Medica Requests
August
Letter to 3 Parties
Letter
to AG
from Citizen's Group 9-14-2009
Ad
for Sentinels & Transcripts & Canyon Courier 9-24
Catholic
ERDs re: Healthcare
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Activities before the Arbitration
The actual count of signatures is 9,383
(April 29, 2009)
Register Your Support
Print
the Citizen's
Signature Sheet
Email
Your Support
Make
a Donation
Submit
Your Name to Volunteer
Informational
Documents
Citizens'
Steering Committee Letter to Members of 3 Boards
Letter
from Past President of
Colorado Hospital Association
Letter
from President/CEO of Exempla
Letter
from Jay Coonan, MD
Letter
from LMC Volunteer Leadership Council
Letter
from League of Women Voters
Citizen
Letter to Board Members of CFF & SCLHS
Jones
Letter to Board Members of CFF & SCHLS
Sponsor
Position & Exempla
Rebuttal Statements
OpEd
from David Wollard
Letter
to Editor,
Denver Business Journal
Factsheet
from Concerned Citizen
Contact Board Members
Addresses
of CFF Board Members
Addresses
of SCLHS Board Members
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Current Information as of Monday, November
16, 2009
Since the ruling by the Arbitrator, the two sponsors of
Exempla Healthcare System have taken several actions:
- The sponsors have each appointed new board members
to serve on the Board of Directors of the Exempla Board.
- The new Exempla Board has made amendments and additions
to the bylaws that govern the operation of Exempla.
- The attorneys of Community First Foundation and of
Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth sent a letter to the Colorado Attorney
General modifying and describing the newly revised Exempla bylaws.
- On November 5, 2009, the Attorney General ruled that
he was terminating his review of the Transaction (change) because it
involved a bylaws change, not an item covered by the Transactions Involving
Licensed Hospitals statue, C.R.S. Section 6-19-102. Read the attorney
General's decision
by clicking on the link in the left-hand column.
- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is also currently
reviewing the most recent actions.
- Our Citizens' Group has recently been contacted by
reporters of The Denver Business Journal, the Denver Post, and Modern
Healthcare magazine. Read both Citizens'
response to the media and the article written in
The Denver
Business Journal.
Ooops! You may find that we goofed in some places. The
correct
email address for the Attorney General for the State of Colorado
is:
attorney.general@state.co.us
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Current Information as of Tuesday,
September 15, 2009:
The Citizen's Group is continuing to work to keep
Lutheran and Good Samaritan Medical Centers from being transferred to
the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System (in Kansas) and from
being converted to Catholic hospitals.
What we have recently done--
-
We have attempted to work "behind the scenes"
to encourage the development of an alternative solution that
would be to the benefit of all interested parties, including our local
communities.
-
We wrote and mailed an "Open Letter to Executive
Officers and board members of the Exempla Healthcare, Sisters of Charity
of Leavenworth Health System and Community First Foundation"
requesting that these principal parties "invite the community
to participate in discussions about the future of our local hospitals".
We received a response only from the CEO of Exempla Healthcare. This
open letter was posted on this website on August 10, 2009 and remains
available for you to read.
-
Because we understand that the Colorado Attorney General, John W.
Suthers, is reviewing the most recent proposed transfer of sponsorship
(and hence, ownership) from Community First Foundation to the Sisters
of Charity of Leavenworth, we have written and sent a letter
Colorado Attorney General Suthers that describes our reasons for opposing
this transfer. The link to this letter is posted on our website
immediately below this update message.
What we plan to do:
-
Now we need your help! Please write a personal
letter to Attorney General Suthers that expresses your opposition
to this transfer of our Colorado hospitals to an out-of-state management
organization and will result in restrictions and prohibitions being
placed on many healthcare procedures including end-of-life, reproductive
and counseling services and stem-cell research. See our guidelines
that are written below.
-
We plan to run additional ads in our local newspapers to
provide information to those citizens who do not have computer access
to our website. In order to receive funds to continue this activity,
donations can continue to be sent to our P.O. Box at:
Save Lutheran Medical Center
P.O. Box 7
Wheat Ridge, CO 80034-0007
- As new information becomes available, we will update this
website in order to keep everyone informed.
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING
A LETTER
The status now is that the new transfer agreement between
the Sisters and Community First Foundation is being reviewed by the office
of the Attorney General of the State of Colorado
Now, as a demonstration of the citizen opposition to this
transfer, we are asking you to send a statement of opposition
to the Colorado Attorney General. We need your help now but you
need to act quickly! (We would like the Attorney General
to personally hear from the community before he makes his decision.)
-
Read the suggested points listed below opposing
the transfer of LMC and Good Sam to the Sisters. Pick one or two of
these points - or others that you feel strongly about but may not
be included here.
-
Write a short letter to the Attorney General of the State
of Colorado. In one or two sentences (or a paragraph or a
page), write the reason(s) for you opposition to this transaction.
Please write your message using your own words.
-
Sign your name and print your mailing address (and
email address).
-
Mail, email, or FAX your letter of opposition to:
USPS Mailing Address:
Hon. John W. Suthers
Colorado Attorney General -- Attention: Hospital Transfer Group
1525 Sherman St 7th Floor
Denver, CO 80203
Email: attorney.general@state.co.us
FAX: 303-866-4745
-
Pass this on! Contact your friends and neighbors and ask
them to also send a letter to the Attorney General.
Points to consider when writing the Attorney General
are listed below. Pick one or two for your letter. Your
comments may be limited to a couple of sentences. It is important that
the letters the AG receives are individual and distinctive, not carbon
copies.
-
You wish to ensure that Colorado-earned hospital profits remain
in the state and are used directly for community health care services
in Colorado - this may not be assured if the transfer takes place.
-
These two Colorado built and funded hospitals will be given to a
Kansas-based corporate management organization, there, Colorado will
be losing assets (estimated to be somewhere between $300-$500 Million).
-
Jobs and investments that might have gone to Colorado businesses
may prossibly go out-of-state if this transfer is accomplished.
-
You desire these two community-owned hospitals to remain non-sectarian
(no religious affiliation or restrictions).
-
With the relocation of St. Anthony's Hospital to Union Blvd at Alameda,
Jefferson County and mountain residents will have two Catholic hospitals
as their closest facilities and choices for health care will
be eliminated.
-
You do not wish to have your health-care choices, including
legal End-of-Life Directives, restricted by the Ethical and
Religious Directives of the Catholic Church.
-
You may request that citizens of our community have the
opportunity to speak out about change in health care that the transfer
of ownership will mandate (imposition of the Catholic Ethical
and Religious Directives). This opportunity was not given at any time
in the past.
-
Read and understand the import of the Ethical and Religious
Directives that directly relate to healthcare issues that
are posted on this website.
Thank you, in advance, for your help.
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Background Information:
New Information June 6, 2009 11:00am
The ruling regarding the future of Lutheran
Medical Center was handed down after 5:00 pm yesterday (Friday) and Exempla
won. What is understood at this time is that (1) the sponsorship can be
transferred but (2) no money can be exchanged for this sponsorship.
However, without seeing an actual statement
about the ruling, no further comment by the Citizens Volunteer Committee
is being made that this time. We understand that a press release is being
prepared and will be given to all media outlets. Watch TV stations and
the Denver Post for more details.
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THANK YOU to the hundreds of you who have carried signature
sheets, otherwise encouraged others to email or write their support, or
made financial contributions for printing or advertising. You have made
this a true "grass roots", community effort. We could not have
reached 9,356 signatures without your help!
The citizen group to Save Lutheran Medical Center will
continue to collect and count signatures through the end of March. Volunteers,
continue to "spread the word" and encourage those who oppose
the transfer of "sponsorship" to give their support through
this citizen Website or by mail to the Post Office box.
REMEMBER: One of our main objectives was to INFORM THE
PUBLIC of this proposed sale since none of the other parties provided
information prior to signing the documents.
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Completed efforts by the Citizens' Committee:
The Citizens' Committee has completed 9 Public Information
Meetings
The Citizens' Committee completed nine public
information meetings. Our purpose was to provide information
to the public and gain support in collecting signatures. As a
result of these meetings and citizens visiting our Website, more than
200 individuals have carried information and signature sheet into their
neighborhoods, churches, social organizations, and families and have been
responsible for several thousand of the signatures collected. This has
been a true "grass roots" community effort. Thank you to
all who participated. Schedules by Date
- Schedules by Area
(Sponsored by the Citizens' Volunteer Committee to Save
Lutheran Medical Center)
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Volunteer Janet and her helpers spread information and
collection signatures at Red Rocks Community College! Thank you to Janet!
(Sponsored by the Citizens' Volunteer Committee to Save
Lutheran Medical Center)
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Many
of you have expressed our concerns in "letters to the editor"
for metro newspapers. Tips for information
and addresses to send letters.
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Act
now to save Lutheran Medical Center
and
preserve our community hospital
Please join the over 9,300+ people in our community who
have registered their support of retaining Lutheran Medical Center as
our non-sectarian, community hospital.
What’s at Stake
In June, a Denver Court ordered Exempla Healthcare and its sponsors, the
Community First Foundation (CFF) of Wheat Ridge and the Sisters of Charity
of Leavenworth Health System (SCLHS) of Leavenworth, Kansas, into binding
arbitration that will decide the fate of Lutheran Medical Center.
Lutheran will either remain our non-sectarian,
community hospital – or it will become a sectarian, Catholic hospital,
under the sole moral authority of the Archbishop of Denver.
The Community First Foundation board members have
not yet heard from the community at large about a decision that affects
all of us. You can join us in telling CFF to stop its deal to give SCLHS
control of Lutheran in exchange for $311 million.
Tell Community First Foundation to put the needs and interests
of this community first. Tell Community First Foundation you want the
arbitration to end with Lutheran Medical Center still our community, non-sectarian
hospital.
What you can do now
- Email your support
by entering your name, address, and date in the email form available
on our site. Your voice will be heard.
- Download,
print and sign a hard-copy of the Citizen's Signature Sheet and have
your friends sign it. Please mail signature sheets to:
Save Lutheran Medical Center
P.O. Box 7
Wheat Ridge, CO 80034-0007
This community will thank you for acting to keep Lutheran
our community, non-sectarian hospital.
Sincerely,
The Save Lutheran Steering Committee
More information
The Save Lutheran Steering Committee is drawn from the more than 1,000
people in our community who already oppose Community First Foundation
turning control of Lutheran Medical Center over to SCLHS. The steering
committee consists of representatives from:
- Physicians on the Lutheran Medical Staff
- Lutheran Medical Center Volunteers
- Community Volunteers
- The Heritage Group of former board members of Community First Foundation
(formerly known as the LMC Community Foundation)
- A former member of the Saint Joseph Hospital board who was one of
the founders of Exempla
Steering Committee Members:
Kumar Bhasin, Steve Brown, MD, Jacquie Haughton, Del Hock, Jim Hopfenbeck,
MD, Ham Lokey, MD, Erlene Hulsey-Lutz, Pam Meyer-Crest, Carla Murphy,
DO, Jane Oehm, Ann Schmidt, Carroll Speckman, Carl Worster, Charlotte
Worster, Norma Whitney
The following are resources
to help you understand this very complex transaction.
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