If Terrace Hill really, really cared about Iowa's environment, the DNR would be a fully staffed agency with the manpower needed to enforce regulations.
It's not even close to being adequately staffed.
End of story.
Iowa City Mercy Hospital
- Thread starter cigaretteman
- Start date
It's not even close to being adequately staffed.
End of story.
As do I. I trout fish, run, bike, kayak etc. I guess I think the overall quality of life here, the ciitizens of Iowa, the low crime rate and the reasonable cost of living keep me here.
Which open water swim are you talking about? Curious...
I love our national parks as well. That is part of my retirement plan some day.
Palo Lake. The one Des Moines had is now gone. Not sure what happened with that one.
Biking here is lame once you have experienced other states. Hills, woods, cleaner water...you can do better than Iowa.
You OK with Dan Zumbach and his SIL sweetheart deal to dump into one of Iowa's prime trout streams?
No not at all. Im hoping that the courts shut that down.
I think it is very possible to be pro environment and pro business. But sure, that isnt how it generally works.
You can swim open water at Palo. The water quality is actually pretty good right now. Not crystal clear but pretty good. It was only closed for 1 week.
I agree there are other states that have a lot going for them. What they dont have is proximity to Carver and Kinnick. That is a lot of why I stay here. And why I travel.
Those mean a lot less to me now.
I am pro free enterprise, but everyone can live with water regulations. In many states that value the resources, that is paid back in tourism. One can swim at Palo now,.but it was cancelled because of E-Coli.
And the Winter...I hate the Winter.
If you look NE, New Hampshire is beautiful and a pretty good value, relatively speaking, and not too far from Boston. For a time, we lived in Nashua and I commuted into the Lexington/concord area.
DES MOINES — The Board of Regents on Tuesday unanimously approved a University of Iowa request to buy most of Iowa City-based Mercy Hospital’s assets for $20 million — without asking questions about the deal’s finances, including how they came to the $20 million figure, where that money will come from, and what will happen with the $63 million Mercy owes on publicly-issued bonds.
“I'm 100 percent behind this,” Regent Nancy Dunkel said of the deal — disclosed Monday, when Mercy filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court and announced UI had signed a letter of intent to acquire “substantially all” its operating facilities and assets.
When The Gazette asked whether the university will be on the hook for the $63 million debt Mercy owes, spokesman Brock Ascher said, “The bankruptcy court will determine what happens with Mercy’s debt, but the state will not be responsible.”
To regent David Barker’s question about timing, UIHC Associate Vice President for Legal Affairs Joseph Clamon on Tuesday said the court ultimately will dictate that but Mercy and the university are seeking an “aggressive timeline.”
“That's what's in the best interest of the patients and employees of that institution,” Clamon said.
The specific request, he said, is that the Mercy-assets auction — for which UIHC is the first and lowest bidder — take place no later than the end of September.
“And then the matter be resolved, we would hope, in October or November,” Clamon said. “Obviously, that is a request that's going to be made by Mercy Iowa City, but we would support that request and we support moving quickly.”
UI President Barbara Wilson on Monday — in presenting the proposed deal to regents — said Mercy "did approach us and ask us to submit a bid to continue their long tradition of health care in our community and beyond.”
The university’s standing $20 million offer is well below the $605 million package UI Health Care offered in 2022 to take ownership of Mercy and make it the “centerpiece” of a new UIHC “community division,” according to an investigation by The Gazette.
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That deal never materialized — and Mercy continued its managing partnership with Des Moines-based MercyOne, which began in 2017.
Mercy had again been eyeing an exit ramp from the partnership when bondholder Preston Hollow Community Capitol of Texas, which invested $41.8 million in Mercy’s 2018 bond issue, and Computershare Trust Company in July asked a District Court to intervene in what it characterized as Mercy’s “financial free fall” by appointing a receiver.
Until that bondholder demand, according to Mercy Chief Restructuring Officer Mark Toney, “a near-term bankruptcy filing was not necessarily a preordained result.” But the receivership petition “led to an emergency bankruptcy filing and potentially significant value destruction.”
“In sum, while the financial challenges (Mercy and its affiliates) have faced (and continue to face) are fairly well-documented, the underlying circumstances leading to the ultimate filing of these Chapter 11 cases are nothing short of extraordinary,” Toney wrote in bankruptcy filings.
During the regents meeting Tuesday, Wilson reiterated the goal of continuing uninterrupted care for Mercy patients as it goes through the bankruptcy proceedings and pending sale.
“We recognize that the outcome is, of course, in the hands of the bankruptcy court,” Wilson said. “But we share a goal to preserve the ability to offer health care access to a wide variety of individuals, both in the community and beyond.”
Noting increasing pressures on health care across Iowa — as its population ages, patients present with increasingly complex needs, and hospitals and clinics face a shortage of physicians and nurses — Wilson said UIHC remains committed to its “mission of care for all citizens of the state.”
“In many ways, this particular move is part of that commitment,” she said. “The potential affiliation with Mercy Iowa City is one way we can continue to meet the health care needs of citizens in this community and in outlying areas around our community, as well as across the state — we are always short of beds.”
www.thegazette.com
“I'm 100 percent behind this,” Regent Nancy Dunkel said of the deal — disclosed Monday, when Mercy filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court and announced UI had signed a letter of intent to acquire “substantially all” its operating facilities and assets.
When The Gazette asked whether the university will be on the hook for the $63 million debt Mercy owes, spokesman Brock Ascher said, “The bankruptcy court will determine what happens with Mercy’s debt, but the state will not be responsible.”
To regent David Barker’s question about timing, UIHC Associate Vice President for Legal Affairs Joseph Clamon on Tuesday said the court ultimately will dictate that but Mercy and the university are seeking an “aggressive timeline.”
“That's what's in the best interest of the patients and employees of that institution,” Clamon said.
The specific request, he said, is that the Mercy-assets auction — for which UIHC is the first and lowest bidder — take place no later than the end of September.
“And then the matter be resolved, we would hope, in October or November,” Clamon said. “Obviously, that is a request that's going to be made by Mercy Iowa City, but we would support that request and we support moving quickly.”
They approached us
UI President Barbara Wilson on Monday — in presenting the proposed deal to regents — said Mercy "did approach us and ask us to submit a bid to continue their long tradition of health care in our community and beyond.”
The university’s standing $20 million offer is well below the $605 million package UI Health Care offered in 2022 to take ownership of Mercy and make it the “centerpiece” of a new UIHC “community division,” according to an investigation by The Gazette.
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That deal never materialized — and Mercy continued its managing partnership with Des Moines-based MercyOne, which began in 2017.
Mercy had again been eyeing an exit ramp from the partnership when bondholder Preston Hollow Community Capitol of Texas, which invested $41.8 million in Mercy’s 2018 bond issue, and Computershare Trust Company in July asked a District Court to intervene in what it characterized as Mercy’s “financial free fall” by appointing a receiver.
Until that bondholder demand, according to Mercy Chief Restructuring Officer Mark Toney, “a near-term bankruptcy filing was not necessarily a preordained result.” But the receivership petition “led to an emergency bankruptcy filing and potentially significant value destruction.”
“In sum, while the financial challenges (Mercy and its affiliates) have faced (and continue to face) are fairly well-documented, the underlying circumstances leading to the ultimate filing of these Chapter 11 cases are nothing short of extraordinary,” Toney wrote in bankruptcy filings.
During the regents meeting Tuesday, Wilson reiterated the goal of continuing uninterrupted care for Mercy patients as it goes through the bankruptcy proceedings and pending sale.
“We recognize that the outcome is, of course, in the hands of the bankruptcy court,” Wilson said. “But we share a goal to preserve the ability to offer health care access to a wide variety of individuals, both in the community and beyond.”
Noting increasing pressures on health care across Iowa — as its population ages, patients present with increasingly complex needs, and hospitals and clinics face a shortage of physicians and nurses — Wilson said UIHC remains committed to its “mission of care for all citizens of the state.”
“In many ways, this particular move is part of that commitment,” she said. “The potential affiliation with Mercy Iowa City is one way we can continue to meet the health care needs of citizens in this community and in outlying areas around our community, as well as across the state — we are always short of beds.”
Regents approve UI-Mercy Hospital acquisition with few questions asked
The Board of Regents on Tuesday morning unanimously approved a University of Iowa request to buy most of Iowa City-based Mercy Hospital’s assets for $20 million — without asking any questions about the deal’s finances, including how they came to the $20 million figure, where that money will come...
www.thegazette.com
Western Iowa doesn't need health care. God looks after them
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anon_b29nm7v7dwp6r
Guest
Maybe we should all chip in and have GIAOT buy it? I mean we’re all obviously rather wealthy individuals.
I can’t help but assume a GIAOT run healthcare enterprise would be a shining beacon in the world of healthcare.
Does this mean the UI isnt buying it? This whole thing is confusing. I got to think that other uses for the building would have to clear zoning. What a mess
I imagine they will have to up their bid to get it.
Agreed. $20MM was so low that someone will come forward with something well in excess of that number...IMO. Just their physical assets are well above that $20MM number.
But I agree with a poster above...this is all quite sad to see unfold. I once worked there and although I have been gone from there for many years now, I am hating reading about their demise.
If you would polled the staff there back in the day and asked if there was any conceivable possibility that Mercy IC would one day cease to exist in a recognizable form...I don't think anyone could have believed it to be possible. I know I wouldn't have.
A
anon_b29nm7v7dwp6r
Guest
Guessing either they will have to significantly up their bid, or this property will become home to some beautiful new mixed use development….”affordable” housing and all.
At this point I’m not sure how much UIHC would go up. With the opening of the North Liberty hospital you almost have to think the most valuable asset is staff.
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