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Clinton council looks to slow hiring of hospital's management firm [The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill. :: ](Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) April 23--CLINTON -- Attorneys will decide if the Clinton City Council can delay the hiring of a management firm approved by the Dr. John Warner Hospital board of directors. Last month, the board voted to replace hospital administrator Earl Sheehy with Alliant Management Services of Louisville, Ky., and amended the budget to pay the cost of hiring the firm. On Monday, over the objections of Mayor Carolyn Peters, the council voted 4-1 to approve the 2015 fiscal budget, with the exception of the amendments approved by the hospital board. Sheehy's contract expires April 30. The city owns the Dr. John Warner Hospital. Finance Commissioner Tom Edmunds believes the board acted too quickly in making the decision to not renew Sheehy's contract and approve a deal with Alliant. "In a review all of the minutes of the hospital board meetings for the past year, the first time a management firm is mentioned is at the March 24 board meeting held jointly with the City Council," Edmunds said. "The management firm, Alliant, had already been at the hospital, done a survey and prepared a proposed agreement. The agreement was approved in principle at the special board meeting on March 31." Edmunds said he would like to know when, and by whom, the decision was made to pursue a management firm. Although the city approves the hospital's budget, Peters said it is up to the hospital board -- which is appointed by the mayor and approved by the council -- to decide where funds are spent. "They have the exclusive control of the expenditure of all money collected to the credit of the hospital fund," she said. "The board is authorized to approve any service and to approve any contract or other arrangement not prohibited by a hospital licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act." Edmunds believes the city should be looking out for the best interests of the hospital and received support from commissioners Jerry Milton, Nan Crang, and John Wise. "If all we do is rubber stamp what the hospital board sends us, then why are we here?" Wise asked. Milton said he has reservations about management firms without doing more research. "We did the same thing with a water management company several years ago and it was just cost, cost, cost, until we got rid of them," he said. Attorneys -- possibly an outside source familiar with healthcare issues -- will research current statutes to determine if the council has the authority to reject the expenditures to Alliant. DJWH Board President Cindy Saylors said the board is studying the decision. "Any further decision made by the board is pending legal counsel," she said. A spokesman for Alliant was not available for comment. ___ (c)2014 The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill.) Visit The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill.) at www.pantagraph.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |