First Posted: 2/15/2015
TOLEDO (AP) — The University of Toledo is looking into creating a nonprofit corporation that would allow it to enter into hospital partnerships that could save money for its medical center.
The university’s board this past week set in motion a plan to explore creating a nonprofit. The proposed entity would be called University of Toledo Health.
Creating a free-standing, nonprofit would allow the university to pursue health-related joint ventures, said David Morlock, chief executive officer of the University of Toledo Medical Center.
“There’s no intent here to try and work around the Board of Trustees and the University of Toledo,” Morlock told university board members. “We wouldn’t be entering into activities without your knowledge. This is a legal way to create some flexibility for us.”
A number of hospitals in Ohio and around the nation already have joined partnerships in response to national reforms that have changed the health-care landscape and pushed hospitals to reduce costs.
Vantage Healthcare of Ohio LLC, a recently announced partnership of eight hospitals in northwestern Ohio, includes the Wood County Hospital in Bowling Green and Blanchard Valley Health System in Findlay. Hospitals in the partnership operate independently, but they can join together on purchasing and contracts with vendors.
State law prohibits universities from holding equity in many for-profit corporations.
Several board members said they should have some oversight of any new corporation, The Blade (http://bit.ly/1CVXFvi) reported.
“I’m not interested in micromanaging the hospital or that new organization, but I believe this board should be represented,” said board chairman Joseph H. Zerbey IV.
