Former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich has filed another complaint with the Federal Trade Commission over the closure of Lakewood (Ohio) Hospital.
Mr. Kucinich is calling for more investigation into the sale and closing of the hospital, according to Cleveland.com.
Cleveland Clinic announced plans to close the 108-year-old hospital last January, and, after 11 months of debate, the system reached an agreement in December to close the facility. Lakewood Hospital shut down inpatient services Feb. 5., allowing the system to move forward with plans to replace the facility with a family healthcare clinic and 24-hour emergency department.
In a 21-page complaint filed with the FTC last October, Mr. Kucinich asked the FTC to stop the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, the nonprofit corporation that operates Cleveland Clinic, from "further misusing its contractual and fiduciary relationship as the operator of Lakewood Hospital" and protect the facility from closing and merging its assets with Cleveland Clinic.
In his newest filing with the FTC, Mr. Kucinich provides several reasons why he believes the FTC should review the sale, including the lack of Hart-Scott-Radino filing, in which both parties must notify the FTC and the Department of Justice of large mergers before they occur.
Lakewood voters will cast ballots during the November general election on whether to support the city council's decision to close the hospital and open the Cleveland Clinic health center and emergency department in its place, according to the report.
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