[Johnny Ryall]

The Regional Medical Center at Memphis (The Med) generates over $80 million in federal funding annually. It is denied as the funds are redistributed to Tenncare & other public & private health care systems across the state. Its Level 1 Trauma Center, Neo-natal & Burn units are still considered state of the art, but its other areas of specialty medicine (peaking around 60) in older parts of its complex are fading fast. It wants to reduce its size from 1.2 million sq ft to apprx. 400,000 sq ft., build a new bed tower, disperse clinical activity into local neighborhood offices and concentrate on the Level 1 Trauma Center (also Neo-natal & Burn Units), greatly downsizing its "general hospital" aspect. Its vulnerable public model has been progressively attacked & abused by the state government for years. The Med has always been the most obvious & largest example of this unjust treatment of the public domain & failure of state leadership, but now others such as Nashville General Hospital are sliding into the Red. Even while TN Govenor Phil Bredesen lavishly spends 2/3 of the Med's funding across the state, he mysteriously acts as if Shelby County wants a handout when it is time to pay the bills...

Officials vow to fund The Med
the Commercial Appeal | By Toby Sells

State and local leaders, citing "unprecedented times," pledged to work together to find a sustainable solution for the financially ailing Regional Medical Center at Memphis. Deputy to the governor John Morgan, Speaker of the House of Representatives Kent Williams, R-Elizabethton, and members of the Shelby County legislative delegation toured the county-owned hospital Friday. Deputy to the governor John Morgan pointed out that The Med "is not a modern facility in a world that demands modern health care." "Understanding the fiscal problems of The Med is easier if you see the physical problems," Morgan said after his first tour of the hospital.

The hospital is a patchwork of 1.2 million square feet cobbled together in six buildings built between 1947 and 1994. The size and layout, hospital officials said, make the space inefficient, and that made many on the tour believe a new hospital should be built. "If you look at bringing real help to The Med from the state, then we've got to talk about a new Med facility," said Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis. "The Med is antiquated. It's a dinosaur." The hospital's five-year plan proposes building a $318 million, eight-story facility that would house 310 beds on 420,000 square feet.

Asked if the hospital could expect any new funds from the state this year, Williams said there's a good chance, but no guarantees. He said officials should tap into the $575 million in reserves left in Gov. Phil Bredesen's budget. "If you can't afford clothes for your children, you go into your saving account," Williams said. "We have a financial obligation to the taxpayers in Tennessee. ... but we also have a moral obligation to care of the needy."

The tour came in the wake of a federal civil rights complaint filed against the state by Shelby County Commissioner Mike Ritz over state funding mechanisms used to pay hospitals for uncompensated care. Finance and Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz sent an e-mail to hospital officials last week claiming the suit halted further funding talks. Morgan said the e-mail was sent in frustration and that "the conversation is a lot easier to have when there's not litigation involved." Morgan and Hardaway both said funding negotiations for The Med were never discontinued.

While local leaders look to find $22 million in new, annual funding for The Med, TennCare cuts could trim another $50 million from the hospital's bottom line, likely forcing the hospital to close, officials have said. Morgan said the Tennessee Hospital Association is readying a bill that would create an "enhanced coverage fee" on hospitals to help close the proposed 22 percent cut to the entire TennCare program. Details of the proposed "bed tax" have not been made public. Regional Medical Center at Memphis: FTI Cambio consultant management team leaves Friday, New Med CEO Dr. Reginald Coopwood begins March 1, Officials said closure of The Med close would have an $800 million economic impact on region.