On a recent trip to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, a physician told me the Clinic was interested in partnering with Portage View Hospital before the hospital was sold to a for-profit entity a few years ago. The more I think about it, the more frustrated I get that the opportunity to join up with this world-class health care provider was missed. I don’t recall the possibility of a Clinic partnership being presented to the community at the time of the sale. Some advantages of this possible partnership include:

• The chance to connect with Clinic medical expertise without traveling to Rochester.

• The enhanced ability to transfer care directly to Clinic facilities in Rochester when medically necessary.

• The enhanced ability to recruit and retain top physicians and other medical professionals.

• The possibility to participate in state-of-the-art medical research and trials.

• The opportunity for Michigan Tech to expand its joint research with the Clinic.

• The opportunity to receive education, training or internships at the Clinic’s Rochester campus.

This practice of for-profit entities purchasing nonprofit hospitals is becoming widespread. It is modeled after the corporate raiding that took place in the 80s wherein the goal was to extract as much money as possible from the purchased entity and then move on. In the case of hospitals and medical practices, this means decreasing staff, reducing pay, increasing workloads, decreasing supplies and equipment, minimizing level of care, etc.

It is widely accepted that the sale of our hospital to a for-profit organization was a mistake. Recent online reviews of the hospital posted by employees and patients are often scathing. Ratings of the hospital by external entities are often low.

There will likely come a time when the current owner has extracted as much profit as possible from the hospital and will look to sell the operation. I recommend the community prepare for this by exploring how we could repurchase the hospital and associated facilities, return it to a nonprofit status and revisit the Mayo Clinic partnership or explore the possibility of a new partnership with Marshfield Clinic, similar to that executed with Dickinson County Health in Iron Mountain. Perhaps we could even be proactive and approach the current owner to set the stage before the damage becomes irreversible. Wouldn’t it be better to have your hospital managed by health care professionals rather than an investment company?