Marion County Common Pleas Judge William Finnegan ruled Thursday in favor of the County Commissioners pertaining to the proposed Marion General Hospital lease.
Finnegan agreed with the County that a 1952 agreement between the City and the County prohibits the City from entering into an extension of the Marion General Hospital lease without the consent of the Board of Commissioners.
Marion County Prosecutor Jim Slagle filed the legal action on June 12 at the unanimous request of the Board of Commissioners after the City proposed to extend the Marion General Hospital lease to 2043 without obtaining approval of the Board of Commissioners. Finnegan rejected the City’s argument that the City was permitted to extend the lease without obtaining approval from the County Commissioners.
According to Slagle, in 1950 the voters of Marion County approved a countywide bond levy to raise money to construct Marion General Hospital. In 1952 the City and County entered into an agreement that the hospital would be operated as a joint City-County hospital and that neither the City nor the County could sell or lease the hospital without obtaining the approval of the other.
According to Slagle, in 1983 the City and County agreed to turn the operation of Marion General Hospital over to a newly formed nonprofit corporation, known as Marion General Hospital, Inc. In 1986, Marion General Hospital, Inc. entered into an agreement, without the approval of the City or County, to turn over control of Marion General Hospital to OhioHealth.
The 1983 lease with Marion General Hospital, Inc is due to expire in December 2013. Earlier this year hospital officials proposed to the City that the lease be extended to 2043. The County Commissioners requested input into the process to make sure that if a new lease is approved that it protect the public’s interest in obtaining quality health care.
Last month, a hospital review committee comprised of City and County representatives recommended that the City and County jointly contract with Pitts Management, Inc. to help evaluate the City and County’s options. City Council and the Commissioners have waited on the judge’s decision before acting on this recommendation.
“Today’s decision eliminates one disputed issue by making it clear that the County and the City are equal partners in future decisions with respect to Marion General Hospital. We look forward to City and County officials working together to resolve how to best ensure that Marion General Hospital remains available to the public to serve our health care needs into the future,” Slagle stated.
