Forum gets another chance to emerge from bankruptcy

After a year and a half of strug- gling through bankruptcy and spending millions of dollars on lawyers and consultants, Forum Health has found a willing buyer, Ardent Health Services, for its assets in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

The sale appears to offer the best possibility for preserving Northside Medical Center in Youngstown, Trumbull Memorial Hospital in Warren and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital in Howland, assets that were built through no small measure by members of the greater Youngstown and Warren communities over a period of more than a century.

Over the years Forum managers and the boards of trustees who hired them, made some bad decisions. Tens of millions of dollars were squandered by over-building some assets that did little but drive up the system’s debt and selling off others that could have ultimately helped build a stronger system. Millions were spent on outside managers who had no vested interest in the community or Forum’s long-range viability. And the system entered into unrealistic labor agreements that drove up its costs and have been painfully renegotiated n recent years.

A new perspective

Throughout the bankruptcy, the creditors have taken the position that it’s all about making them whole, which legally they are entitled to do. But now, as the court enters a process of examination of Ardent’s offer, the office of Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray has an important role to play.

It is the responsibility of the attorney general’s office to represent the community’s interest in the sale of the assets of a charitable entity. We would also suggest that the AG’s office should protect the millions of dollars in charitable foundation funds that had been pledged over the years for community health purposes and became entangled in Forum’s growing debt.

Until now, the investors have played hardball in scuttling other proposals aimed at preserving the Mahoning Valley health care facilities owned by Forum. Community leaders and the attorney general should provide some push back during this phase of the court’s deliberations.