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Hospital Safety Record
UT Medical Center Hospital
Donald K. Wedding, UT-AAUP Executive Board
LindaMarie Rouillard, UT-AAUP Executive Board
The August 2012 issue of Consumer Reports contains an article "How safe is your hospital?" This article gives a safety rating for over 1000 hospitals across the United States, including 107 in Ohio.
Of the 107 hospitals in Ohio with safety ratings, The University of Toledo (UT) Medical Center hospital is rated last.
The highest safety score for a rated hospital in Ohio is 68 out of a possible 100. The University of Toledo scored 28. This is among the worst in the U.S.
The safety ratings are based on infection rates, re-admissions, communication, and scanning. According to Consumer Reports, UT Medical Center has the worst possible ratings for infections and communication with a high rate of re-admissions.
The rating data come from federal and state agencies including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Leapfrog Group. The Leapfrog hospital survey is the gold standard for comparing hospital performance of safety, quality, and efficiency.
The bottom ratings for the UT Medical Center hospital are in contrast to the puffing-up of the hospital by the Lloyd Jacobs Administration on billboards in Ohio and Michigan and in full page ads in the Toledo Blade. One large banner on the Glass Bowl stadium reads: " Ranked BEST hospital in the area!" Perhaps it is time to change the sign.
Since the 2006 merger of the University of Toledo and the Medical University of Ohio, the Jacobs Administration has diverted millions to the UT Medical Center Hospital from colleges, departments, and programs at the University of Toledo Bancroft campus. UT academics have been slashed while millions of dollars flow to the UT Medical Center hospital.
Scott Scarborough is the Sr. Vice President and Executive Director of UTMC Hospitals and Clinics. He was brought to UT by Jacobs after he "resigned" from DePaul University in Chicago.The UT Medical Center hospital has had financial problems under the Jacobs Administration. These financial problems have continued under the hospital leadership of Scarborough. On one of his expense account reports, Scarborough explained the purpose of a golf and lunch outing: "to brief Plante Moran on the audit risks pertaining to the hospital and its provider-based clinics. The major risks for the university pertain to hospital operations (emphasis added)."
In spite of the large flow of money, the UT Medical Center hospital is at the bottom of the hospital ratings. This is not the fault of the hospital physicians, nurses, or staff. The fault is with Lloyd Jacobs and Scarborough who was hand-picked by Jacobs. The UT Board of Trustees is also at fault. The UT Board of Trustees has continuously ignored its fiduciary responsibility to Ohio taxpayers and has given Jacobs carte blanche in the allocation of revenues and other resources. As a result, UT academics are suffering as millions are flowed by Jacobs and Scarborough to a hospital rated as the worst in Ohio.
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