What are the real problems Gentlemen?
Since my article of January 24 about the collapse of talks between David Dunn of the University of Louisville and Stephen Williams of Norton Healthcare over the future of Kosair Children’s Hospital, a handful of additional documents have trickled out. The most significant was a letter from Mr. Williams to Dr. Dunn dated January 15 summarizing Norton’s perspective on the history and conduct of the negotiations extending back to September 2012. The text of the letter was reported in InsiderLouisville on January 24. At that time, as UofL was preparing for its partnership with Catholic Health Initiatives, the ground seems to have shifted in a dramatic way. The discussions seem never to have gotten back on track. Of course, if one party does not want a successful ongoing relationship, it is easy to blow things up. Leaving no fingerprints would then be the challenge.
In any event, we now have a more specific Norton version of events to compare with the University’s claim that “the very existence of all of UofL’s educational and training programs at the Health Sciences Center” is threatened. In the absence of the “Term Sheet” that is referred to, or any of the other of the 135+ contracts between Norton and UofL that might allow us to judge who is being unreasonable, we are left with contradictory assignments of blame. Continue reading “Additional Documents Related to the Dispute over Norton Kosair Children’s Hospital.”