The Lakewood, Ohio City Council recently hired Cleveland law firm Thompson Hine to represent Lakewood Hospital in negotiations with the Cleveland Clinic regarding the clinic's decision to close the hospital and open a family health center and emergency department in its place, according to Cleveland.com.
The Cleveland Clinic announced Jan. 15 a tentative plan to close Lakewood Hospital upon the opening of a new Avon hospital next year.
The city of Lakewood owns the hospital buildings and the Lakewood Hospital Association maintains them and acts as a landlord. The Cleveland Clinic has leased the hospital buildings from the association and maintained operations of it since 1997, according to the report.
The council will hold a closed-door meeting with Thompson Hine April 13 to discuss the deal. City Law Director Kevin Butler and two other council members said the Cleveland Clinic's management of the hospital, specifically, the clinic's decisions to transfer certain services to Fairview Hospital, will be discussed during the meeting.
"We certainly have an obligation to the taxpayers of Lakewood and the community as a whole, anybody who might be using the hospital services, to make sure whatever actions were taken impacting Lakewood Hospital were taken because they were in the best interests of the hospital and the survival of the hospital," Sam O'Leary, a Lakewood city council member said in a statement.
The city council must agree to any plan that will close the hospital. City council members hope to reach a decision by the end of May, but may take more time if necessary.
The Cleveland Clinic released the following written statement regarding its plan to close Lakewood Hospital: "We are proud of our relationship, now in its 19th year, with Lakewood Hospital and its delivery of high quality care to its patients and the community. We will continue to work with the leadership of the city and Lakewood Hospital Association through this process."