Although Forum is now working under the protection of the federal Bankruptcy Court, the process being followed by the state will be similar to when administrators sold the old Beeghly Medical Park to Akron Children's Hospital.
Attorney General Rich Cordray made a brief stop in downtown Youngstown Thursday morning to meet with reporters. He said under Ohio law, the sale of a non-profit organization, such as Forum Health, must be reviewed and approved by the Attorney General before the deal can be finalized.
"And our role is standing in the shoes of the public," Cordray said. "To make sure that they promised benefits are actually carried out."
Cordray's staff will be looking at how the possible sale of Forum's assets to Ardent Health Services will impact patient care, he said.
"Including a duty of loyalty that the officials owe to the charitable corporation itself and to its mission, which is to provide health care to the people of this Valley," Cordray said. "In addition we will be reviewing the transaction for community benefit. What is in the best interest of this community? That will be our guiding star in this transaction."
One point Cordray stressed is that this review will not be focusing on how the proposed sale to Ardent impact's Forum's secured or unsecured creditors. Their concerns in this possible sale would carry "little if any weight" in his determinations, he said.
Cordray added that a decision should be made within several weeks. Normally a case like this could takes two or three months to complete, but because this proposal has already been filed with Bankruptcy Court, he does not want the potential sale from being slowed down because of red tape from Columbus.
"It behooves us to move quickly and make our assessments and carrying out our roles," Cordray said. "And not let any sort of bureaucratic mentality slow things down."
On a related note, if you have ever worked or or used Forum Health's services in the past, you may receive letters in the mail from the bankruptcy court. Local attorneys said they have been flooded with calls, but have told people not to worry because these letters are standard when a company goes through bankruptcy.
