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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Special Meeting of the Ames City Council 04/20/1993MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL AMES, IOWA APRIL 20, 1993 The Ames City Council met in special joint session with the Hospital Board of Trustees at 5:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers in the City Hall, 515 Clark Avenue, pursuant to law with Mayor Curtis presiding and the following Council Members present: Brown, Campbell, Hertz, Parks, and Wirth. Council Member Hoffman arrived at 5:30 p.m. Present from the Hospital Board of Trustees were Cal Halliburton, Linda Dasher, Betty Jo Harker, Michael Flynn, and Carol Patterson. HEALTH CARE STUDY COMMITTEE PUBLIC FORUM: Sam Pritchard, 912 Kellogg, requested that the Council consider the following four points regarding a study committee to follow up on findings of the previous McFarland Clinic Steering Committee: to proceed with prudence; to include other communities on the Committee; to find someone with no attachments to either MGMC or McFarland Clinic to objectively serve on the Committee; and to consider a change in the Hospital administration along with any other changes considered. Kay Wall, 1004 Kellogg, said there should be an opportunity for public input at the beginning and end of each Committee meeting, to allow citizens to make comments based on the discussions heard and information provided at the meeting. She said the Committee Chair should be a consultant with no possible financial benefit in this issue. She said the community needed to be better informed about the issues involved, and suggested the use of utility bill stuffers to provide information about the meetings. She said the final decision should referred to the citizens for a vote. Merlin Pfannkuch, 1424 Kellogg, said he was unclear as to whether the proposed Committee was to be a study committee or a decision-making committee. He said a study committee needed to be broader based than what had been recommended by the McFarland Clinic Steering Committee, and that retired, elderly, and low-income individuals needed to be represented. He suggested someone from County government be included as well. He said he saw no need for the tight time frame suggested, and thought the Study Committee's work should be deliberate and thorough. Paula Weidner, 903 Kellogg, said they should include a representative from the Old Town neighborhood on the Committee, and volunteered to serve in that capacity. She said they needed representatives from groups such as the elderly as well. CREATION OF STUDY COMMITTEE'S CHARGE: City Manager Steve Schainker said he'd been working with Council Members Campbell and Wirth regarding the McFarland Clinic Steering Committee's recommendations, and their concept of the purpose of this Study Committee was that it should gather as much information as possible and report back to Council. He noted a packet of information had been distributed with this evening's agenda, containing lists of possible issues to be used as a guide in determining the charge of the Committee. City Attorney John Klaus reviewed his memo of April 12, 1993 regarding six basic concepts by which integration of MGMC with McFarland Clinic could occur, noting there was also the possibility of the Hospital linking with some facility other than McFarland Clinic. He said all those options involved MGMC becoming something other than a municipal hospital. He said the decision of divesting the Hospital was not under the jurisdiction of the Board of Trustees, but was a prerogative of the Council. He said there may be a connection with the Trustees' obligation to manage and govern the Hospital, and their input may lead to conclusions that divestiture is not the best option but that some change is needed in the governance of the Hospital. Coun. Parks asked whether it would require a public vote for the City to divest itself of the Hospital. City Attorney Klaus said the power rests with the City Council to make a decision concerning divestiture. He said if the power to do something is vested in an elected official, that official can't abandon that power, not even back to the electorate. He said the City could take an opinion poll on the matter, but it would not be a legally binding election. The Council and Board members discussed possible issues to be included in the Study Committee's charge. Board Member Halliburton suggested that the charge be broadly written, rather than for two specific agencies. Hospital President Jeff Stevenson reviewed a proposed vision and mission statement for the Council's consideration. Coun. Campbell said in order to propose solutions, the Committee would first need to examine the present difficulties with health care, and suggested that those current problems be mentioned in the charge. Mr. Stevenson reviewed the current health care delivery climate, new delivery system attributes, and ways to change the health care delivery climate. He reviewed a draft of a proposed charge to the committee. Council Member Hoffman arrived at 5:30 p.m. Coun. Brown said it would be necessary to provide a common background of information to all Committee members. She said this issue had been wrongly perceived as a land-use issue when it was not. She said they needed to educate each Committee member on the issues involved and bring the community along by an open format of the meetings. Coun. Parks said they had to look at the whole issue and at all possible linkages with any facility. He said the charge should consist of two broad questions: 1) Should a merger of any kind or integration occur? and 2) Should other avenues be explored? Coun. Brown agreed and said they had to look at all alternatives. She suggested they avoid words like "integration," and "reorganization." Board Member Halliburton agreed and said it was far better that they be creative and fashion their own mechanism for delivering health care. Coun. Hoffman suggested that in addition to current problems, they ask the Committee to look at possible problems that could evolve in future years. Coun. Wirth said they should also look at the 2 present system's strengths and consider how to maintain them. Board Member Harker said they should look toward the Hospital being the choice of the patients. She said the goals should be access, affordable cost, and quality. She said governance of the Hospital was a major factor that would need to be addressed, regardless of whether or not integration occurred. Coun. Hertz said they needed to make sure the local health care system was as strong as possible so the control remains in the community. Motion by Parks, Second by Brown, to approve of the following charge to the Study Committee: To define and review health-care issues for mid-Iowa, and suggest a model for organization/re- organization of care delivery for the regional community. Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. Motion by Parks, Second by Brown, to direct Staff to refine the wording of the charge if necessary. Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. DETERMINATION OF COMMITTEE'S COMPOSITION: The Council and Board members discussed the possible composition of the Study Committee. Mr. Stevenson said the committee needed to be judicious and comprehensive, but also prompt in making a decision. He said the Committee could be more streamlined than what had been previously proposed. Board Member Dasher agreed, and said the Committee would need the input of many of the proposed parties, but it was not necessary that they all be Committee members. Coun. Parks agreed and said he felt a member of the League of Women Voters, the Chamber of Commerce, and the area neighborhood association should be there to observe, but not necessarily sit on the Committee. He pointed out that the issue was not zoning, and said there was more a need for a member from the public at large. Coun. Hoffman concurred. There was discussion about the possibility of including a 3rd party payer such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield or the Principal Group on the Committee. It was suggested that choosing one representative might be difficult and it might be preferable to have a variety of such individuals attend the meetings to provide information. After discussion about how appointees would be made, there was consensus that the Mayor be authorized to appoint the Council members to serve on the Committee, as well as the citizen at large. Mayor Curtis said he would make recommendations to Council for their approval. He said because he felt diversity would result in the best decision, his recommendations would be based on different viewpoints being represented on the Committee. There was discussion regarding whether the Committee Chair should be elected from the group, or selected from the outside. There was discussion regarding whether a facilitator would be necessary to lead the group's discussions, and how such an individual might be chosen. 3 There was consensus that although the Committee could adopt its own rules for procedure, its meetings would be public and therefore need to comply with Public Meetings Law requirements regarding posting of agendas and meeting notices. There was discussion of the role of ex officio members. Motion by Hoffman, Second by Parks, to approve the following composition of the Study Committee (number of representatives in parentheses): Hospital Board (2), McFarland Clinic (2), City Council (2), Independent Health Care Providers (1), ISU Student Health Services (1), Citizens at large (2). Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. Motion by Hoffman, Second by Wirth, to approve the following as ex officio members for the Study Committee: City Attorney John Klaus, City Manager Steve Schainker, MGMC President Jeff Stevenson, MGMC Vice President Doug Kell, and McFarland Clinic Administrator Chuck Elder. Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. Motion by Parks, Second by Brown, that the Committee establish its own Chairperson, and return to Council for direction if necessary. Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. MGMC President Jeff Stevenson suggested a Public Education Committee be formed to provide community information forums on health care delivery issues. Coun. Campbell suggested that the formation of that committee be delegated to the Study Committee. Motion by Campbell, Second by Wirth, that the newly-created Study Committee coordinate its public education efforts with the League of Women Voters and the Chamber of Commerce. Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. Hospital Board Members agreed that the Hospital bear the costs of outside resources the Committee may need, such as a facilitator's fees, such costs not to exceed $10,000. Motion by Campbell, Second by Wirth, for the Study Committee to have its first meeting by mid- May. Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. Coun. Campbell said it should be a goal to have all Committee meetings videotaped and aired on Cable Channel 12. ADJOURNMENT: Motion to adjourn by Campbell, Second by Hoffman. Vote on Motion: 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m. 4 _______________________________ __________________________________ Sandra L. Ryan, City Clerk Larry R. Curtis, Mayor 5