Bill Loughrey saved Fulton County taxpayers $100 million due to his key role in the historic restructuring of Grady Hospital, all without cutting services to county residents

Loughrey, candidate for the Fulton County Commission, District 2 At Large, (this seat includes the whole county) today announced a ten point plan to further improve Grady Hospital. As the longest serving member of the Grady Board of Directors Loughrey was the driving force behind its historic turn around.

“Grady Hospital is a vital community asset used by residents throughout the metropolitan area,” said Loughrey. “The problem with Grady is not financial; it is leadership. Just a year ago there was almost universal praise for Grady operations. The hospital was taking in more than it was spending. Yet, today the hospital is losing money at a rapid rate.

“We must put Grady back on track. I have been on the Grady board for many years, and I know how to fix the problems. I know what works and what doesn’t work. I have worked hard to insure that kids in inner city have the same high quality health care as kids in the suburbs.

“Unfortunately, my opponent, Commissioner Robb Pitts, has done nothing to guide and redirect Grady operations over the past four years, preferring to focus his efforts on international relations in Asia and Europe. It is time for a change in direction at the Fulton County Commission.”

According to Loughrey “Managing a hospital that provides significant amounts of indigent care is a major challenge. In Washington DC and Philadelphia, such hospitals were forced to close. Yet, success is possible. Similar hospitals with good leadership and management do well, such as those in Denver and Charlotte.

“Grady is a wonderful institution,” Loughrey said. “It can be financially viable and become a truly great hospital. However, it won’t be easy and will require real leadership and vision. Here is what we must do:

“1. Regionalize local funding. Regionalizing local funding of Grady so other counties pay their fair share for the services they receive will significantly improve Grady’s finances. Other counties receive $24 million in free health care from Grady and an economic benefit of $350 million annually.

2. Optimize Federal Funding. The Grady system is not structured properly to maximize its federal funding. Making it a qualified regional authority under Federal law could increase Medicaid funding for the region by millions of dollars annually.

3. Restructure Service Delivery. Grady and Fulton County have three different sets of overlapping and duplicating satellite clinics. These clinics should be restructured to streamline operations and improve service to patients. Also, the Fulton County health department should be better coordinated with Grady.

4. Alter State Medicaid Program. The State should alter its Medicaid program to increase the availability of federal funds. States like Florida and Texas have adopted programs that enable them to receive additional federal funds. Georgia should do the same.

5. Reinstitute expenditure controls. This year, for the first time in a decade, Grady has not undertaken a management review nor completed stringent “benchmarking,” that is comparing its practices with the best practices in successful hospitals. Management must return to the basics and reinstitute the controls that worked successfully over the past few years.

6. Fix State Funding Mechanism. The current state financing mechanism for Grady is broken. Grady doesn’t know until after the year ends what it will be paid and often doesn’t receive the funding until well into the following year. One year the state tried to short change Grady by $17 million, and the hospital was forced to sue. It won the court suit, but to little avail. This year Grady failed to receive the additional millions it was expecting, precipitating the current crisis.

7. Identify New Revenue Sources. The Grady trauma center loses tens of millions of dollars a year, but it is the foundation for much of the region’s homeland security initiatives. Using federal funds, state financing, increased fines for speeding, reckless driving, DUI and some 911 money, the center should be rebuilt to make it a world-class facility and restructured to reduce operating costs.

8. Undertake New Partnership Initiatives. The hospital has many excellent federal, state and private partnerships, including the cancer center, the burn center, the new children’s hospital (being built with $30 million in private funding), the poison center, the AIDS program and the sickle cell initiative. Grady should work continuously with the federal government, the state and private donors to develop more new initiatives such as these.

9. Focus on the Long Term. Grady needs to increase its Medicare caseload over time and make investments to improve its efficiency. The authority has plans to make these investments and should proceed with many of these proposals. However, it should be recognized that it may be years before some of these initiatives favorably impact the hospital’s cash position.

10. Provide New Leadership. The Grady Board should expeditiously complete the current CEO search and take other initiatives to re-assert its leadership.”

Loughrey said, “These proposals are interrelated and complex. However, the cornerstone of all of them is leadership. All of the stakeholders in this process – the hospital management, the Board, the state, the federal government and the counties will benefit from strong leadership. Together, we can make Grady a world class facility.”

For more information about the Bill Loughrey for Fulton County Commission campaign, please visit his website www.billloughrey.com

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