Questions for the WMC Board

As the Winneshiek Medical Center Board of Trustees gets ready to vote on an extension to its Management Services Agreement with Mayo Clinic Health Systems, there are several questions that board members need to answer in order to satisfy the public:

What measurable standards were used to determine whether Mayo Clinic Health Systems deserved to be given a contract extension?

The best decisions are based on figures, not opinions.  For instance, contract extensions are often given in cases where the contract has resulted in good financial results.  That would not be the case with Winneshiek Medical Center, which is expected to lose around $1 million in its operating budget this year,

But there are other possible statistics that can be used, such as medical outcomes or patient satisfaction scores.  These work best when a board sets an overall goal in advance--and then measures whether management has achieved that goal.

Have other management options been explored?

OK--it's too much of a stretch to believe the WMC Board would ask Gundersen Lutheran for a bid for management services.  But the choices are not Mayo or Gundersen, despite what the Mayo and the WMC Board might say.  Has the University of Iowa Hospitals been asked for a bid?  Has Mercy Hospital been asked for a bid?  What about the companies that provide management services to hospitals as their main business?

The point is that you don't know what you have unless you have something to compare it to.

Will the public be given a chance for input?

The hospital board has just gone through talks with the State Auditor's Office about compliance with the Iowa Open Meetings Law.  The board's handling of a vote on an extension to the Management Services Agreement will provide an important test case on how it does business.  First of all, will the vote on the issue even be mentioned on the board's agenda?  Secondly, will the public be given a chance to voice its opinions about the contract extension?  Finally, what information will be given to the public about the contract extension--will the board disclose details or will it claim that to do so would put it "at a competitive disadvantage?"