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SYRACUSE - In a Feb. 19 interview with The Central New York Business Journal, Dr. David Smith, president of State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University, discusses SUNY's alternative proposal to the Berger Commission Report, which calls for University Hospital and Crouse to be joined and controlled by a non-SUNY entity.
SUNY Chancellor John Ryan announced Feb. 8 that SUNY submitted a plan to merge the two hospitals into a single, SUNY entity. Smith says SUNY's proposal satisfies the recommendations highlighted in the Berger Commission Report, which requires the two entities to sign a letter of intent to come together under a unified structure by the end of December 2007. This plan must be implemented by June 2008.
Smith also contends that SUNY's proposal is the only viable plan out there right now.
Dr. Paul J. Kronenberg, president of Crouse Hospital, says an "active parent" governance could be a feasible option. An active parent would feature an organization that would oversee, monitor, and approve capital investments, strategic planning, and the coordination of services.
However, Smith says an active parent can only be used with nonprofit hospitals. Crouse is a private hospital. University Hospital is a state hospital.
Despite the disagreement, Smith downplays the friction between Kronenberg and himself. In the Feb. 16 edition of The Central New York Business Journal, Kronenberg said SUNY's proposal has caused a "little bit of friction" between the two.
Smith concedes that the disagreement over who will govern a combined Crouse and University Hospital is a key, difficult hurdle to overcome.
Below is a transcript of the interview with Smith.
* Ryann Acton (RA): Could you describe SUNY's proposal to merge with Crouse?
Dr. David Smith (DS): The proposal from SUNY ... was to be responsive to the Berger Report first and foremost and to show an alternative to the other options out there that aren't viable.
But the SUNY perspective was that [we can] achieve further cost savings. We are projecting that a combined entity could realize somewhere around $51 million a year cost savings annually - that being achieved through economies. People ask me whether that means people losing jobs. Really, I think no. I think this would be done through attrition ... And secondly...