Author: P Hasselbacher

Alice In Wonderland in a Louisville Federal Courtroom.

“Contrariwise,’ continued Tweedledee, ‘if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn’t, it ain’t. That’s logic.”
? Lewis Carroll

I began my day yesterday morning attending Medical Grand Rounds at University of Louisville Hospital.  These weekly sessions teach the principles of evidence-based, scientific medicine to the physicians of tomorrow.  They simultaneously emphasize the ethical and patient-centered ideals that underly and legitimize the practice of medicine.  For the physicians of today (and of yesterday like me) they provide a way to refresh and celebrate the ever-expanding knowledge of the science of medicine, and to reaffirm and share together our commitment to the highest standards of our profession.

Because I was already nearby and interested in the proceedings, I drove across town to observe the second day of trial in the courtroom of Judge Greg N. Stivers in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky to hear the constitutional challenge to new Kentucky abortion restrictions which was brought by EMW  Women’s Surgical Center (joined by Planned Parenthood) against Gov. Matthew Bevin and Health Secretary Vicky Glisson.  Judge Stivers will pass judgement on whether the language, intent, or implementation of laws controlling transfers and transport of women with complications of abortion from an outpatient clinic to a hospital unduly burden the right to terminate a pregnancy. Continue reading “Alice In Wonderland in a Louisville Federal Courtroom.”

Who Will Defend Kentucky’s Academic Institutions Against Political Capture?

[Below is the full text of my shortened Op-Ed piece published on-line by the Courier Journal on Aug 8, and in the print edition of Aug 9.  The complaint by Dr. Mullins and links to background and documentation are also available.]

I submit this as an open letter to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS) and to the Louisville community. On August 2, the Courier-Journal reported extensively on a lawsuit brought against senior members of the University of Kentucky’s administration and the administration of Governor Matthew Bevin by Dr. Raynor Mullins, a distinguished senior member of the faculty of the School of Dentistry at UK. The lawsuit alleges that Dr. Mullins was fired from his non-tenured faculty position in retaliation for comments that were critical of Gov. Bevin’s plans to reshape Kentucky Medicaid– a plan intended to considerably reduce the number of Medicaid beneficiaries and cut back on benefits, including dental services. The lawsuit names as defendants “Mark Birdwhistell, UK’s Vice President of Administration for UK HealthCare; Dr. Stephanos Kyrkanides, Dean of the UK College of Dentistry; and ‘John Doe,’ described as an official in the Bevin administration.” (Dr. Birdwhistell is a major architect of Gov. Benin’s healthcare plan.) The story was picked up by the Associated Press and is appearing across the country. What is happening in Lexington is relevant to the accreditation status of the University of Louisville and the reputation of our Commonwealth. Continue reading “Who Will Defend Kentucky’s Academic Institutions Against Political Capture?”

Louisville’s Human Organ Transplant Program Stagnates As Lexington’s Grows

Financial and operational stresses at Jewish Hospital likely to be taking a toll on one of the headline partnerships between the Hospital and the University of Louisville. Increasing dependence on Medicaid patients and a blossoming load of uncompensated care may be blocking access for the medically indigent and recipients of color for at least some solid organ transplants such as heart and liver.

Since the middle 1980s when I came to Louisville, Jewish Hospital has branded itself as a high tech “Heart Hospital.” It promotes the early adoption of high-technology. Indeed, a few years ago it received a special designation as a heart hospital in Kentucky from U.S. News & World Report that it would not have received had it not had a cardiac transplant program. In the middle 1990s, the University of Louisville formally shifted the private practice activities of its cardiologists to Jewish Hospital. The transplant surgeons at Jewish, to my knowledge, all have formal University faculty appointments. Jewish Hospital and the University of Kentucky Hospital are the only two hospitals in the state with a Certificate of Need (CON) for adult human solid-organ transplantation. (The University of Louisville does not own this CON for transplant.) Accordingly, this high-profile program is both important for, and a marker of the institutional health of both Louisville institutions.

For this and for other reasons, I have been writing about Kentucky’s transplant programs for the last few years. Most medical schools with a major clinical medical center consider having a transplant program as an important part of their service profile. I became concerned that although in the 1990s through 2010, Jewish Hospital performed the most such organ transplants in Kentucky, that a steadily-growing UK program overtook our own as early as 2010. My academic pride was injured. My concern included that a weakening Jewish Hospital was losing the resources or the will to continue this important program. It is after all an expensive undertaking. Continue reading “Louisville’s Human Organ Transplant Program Stagnates As Lexington’s Grows”

Fiduciary Audit of UofL Foundation Looks Really Really Grim

Just got 269 pages of documents with a summary.

The summary supports previous claims of major financial mismanagement– if not worse. Oversight by Foundation Board was feeble if not inadequate. Ramsey supporters, enablers, and apologists, and  shares blame with former President Ramsey and other University executives. The so-called elite, chardonnay swilling, trouble makers who dared rock the boast and ask questions are vindicated in spades.

You can read the executive summary here.

Statements by current UofL President and Chairs of UofL Trustees and Foundation affirm their commitment to transparency and emphasize that the report reflects the management of previous administrations and boards.

Bad enough to put people in jail or to claw-back money?  We’ll have to see.

More when I dig into the details.

Here is a copy of the entire document. (6.7 MB)  What do you see that sticks out as either good or bad?

Peter Hasselbacher, MD
President, KHPI
8 June 2017
4:50 pm