New Haven Independent

Posted by: Gary Doyens | May 9, 2007 6:04 AM

This story is the best account yet of how shabbily City Hall treats Yale New Haven Hospital as a matter of policy. It chronicles the shakedown of the hospital for expenses unrelated to its operations: $200,000 to Gateway? Hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for ladders to employment and promotions? Free care advisory committee -- it is well documented that free care at Yale is in the millions of dollars every year.

What is indeed more shocking though, is that Kelly Murphy actually spent hours writing this worthless letter to Yale at all. The full report of their compliance, it is reported, is not due until late June. She's writing this letter, making accusations about failure to pay Gateway it's share of the shakedown money before she even knows whether it's true. She writes an "action letter on outstanding items" without factually checking to see if they are really outstanding.

Hey, Ms. Murphy..how about picking up the phone and calling over to Yale? How about telling Gateway to balance its checkbook so it knows whether it got the money or not?

This is how City Hall works -- and why it costs so much money to run this city. Its employees are working on matters like these that have political implications for the mayor and the NH BOA -- but are unfair and sleazy to say the least.

At least Kika Matos had the good sense to say nothing pending a review of Yale's response. Here's some advice for K and K: Kelly and Kika: Walk over to Yale, have a cup of coffee and check on the interim status of things. Wasting time writing letters, making accusations, demanding responses to things that at very least are reported to be done; and then writing more letters is hardly a productive use of your taxpayer paid time. And it only continues a history of Yale bashing by this administration, its enablers and union cronies. It's time for this endless criticism and history of accusations to end. It's past time for Mayor DeStefano and the BOA to set a different tone for K and K and the others in our employ too.

P.S. Psssss Kelly...you're the DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATOR...That means development is supposed to be a good thing!

Posted by: Paul Wessel | May 9, 2007 8:51 AM

Among the many wonderful aspects of the New Haven Independent website is your posting of original documents, as you did here.

Comparing the posted City and Yale New Haven Hospital letters raises some questions worthy of a follow-up piece, including, but not limited to:

Either there is or there isn't a duly appointed Citizens Advisory Committee, and either it met or it hasn't. Which is it?

Either YNHH paid Gateway Community College $200,000 for its Nursing Career Ladder Program, or it hasn't. Which is it?

The agreement either allows YNHH to run the $100,000 New Haven resident career ladder program, or requires it to provide funds to the City to operate the program. Is there an apparent violation of the agreement here, is the language unclear, and/or, if there is disagreement between the parties, what's the process for resolution?

A lot of community, City, Aldermanic, and Hospital energy went into crafting the development agreement. It behooves us all that it does what it was intended to do.

The Independent can help shed light on the process and insure that the community benefits in the manner to which the parties agreed. We look forward to seeing more coverage from you on this.

Posted by: Jessica Mayorga | May 11, 2007 4:07 PM

This article incorrectly portrays Yale New Haven Hospital as cooperative and compliant when, in fact, a number of the statements in their letter, linked above, are completely false. For starters, the $200,000 payment toward the nursing career ladder program was paid after Ms. Murphy's letter was received by Mr. Roth's office, not prior to. A check from YNHH was delivered to Gateway on April 13th, one month after Ms. Murphy's letter which is dated March 13th.

Further, YNHH hadn't made a payment to Gateway since the $100,000 check delivered in 2004. A second payment of the same amount was finally released in 2006 because it became a requirement in the development agreement for the new cancer center. Therefore, it must be clarified that YNHH did not act on its own to fulfill the financial requirements of the agreement, had it not been for Ms. Murphy's letter, we would likely still be awaiting action on their part.

Finally, the City provided feedback on the Hospital's traffic plan in the form of a letter dated March 6th. It is the Hospital that has yet to provide the city with a response.
It is essential that the facts be correct and out in the open in this case. The appropriate decision-makers need to be consulted to achieve clarity. The City is simply asking that the Hospital comply with its requirements in a timely and precise fashion.

Posted by: charlie | May 14, 2007 8:17 PM

While the city and hospital stall, those 12 traffic signals are waiting to be installed. How about both parties agree that those should go in ASAP? ASAP means that all parties involved should be working 20 hour shifts until they are actually installed and working - before someone DIES. Does anyone in our public life today care about people dying due to intersections with no traffic signals, or do they just care about themselves?

Posted by: Gary Doyens | May 14, 2007 10:50 PM

Jessica Mayorga's defense of the indefensible -- namely the continued trashing of Yale New Haven Hospital by Mayor DeStefano's administration is unacceptable on any level. I know we are paying dearly as taxpayers for adult behavior at City Hall -- the question is when are we going to actually get it? When is the DeStefano administration and our city employees going to strike a cooperative tone versus one that is designed to inflame, insult and demean? The Yale Cancer Center and Yale New Haven Hospital are valueable assets to New Haven and Connecticut. It is past time to treat them as such.

It is very telling that while Ms. Mayorga claims there are a number of statements by Yale "that are completely false," she singles out only 2 -- the timing of the money payments to Gateway and the issue of traffic planning. Neither of these statements are completely false as she claims. This is her best stab at a response to a letter from Yale that provided volumunous detail?

The fact is Yale never should have been required to pay any money to Gateway ever, but that's beside the point.

Ms. Mayorga also failed to address why Kelly Murphy couldn't set up a meeting with Yale to discuss progress as is routine in most business agreements -- and instead, chose to issue an accusatory letter demanding action on issues that seem to be in compliance and others that still need to be completed knowing full well her letter, when made public would only inflame the anti- YNHH fervor at City Hall.

Taxpayers in New Haven deserve better than this from city hall and so does the hospital. I renew my call for Mayor DeStefano to change direction in these discussions and to instruct our employees to treat the hospital as they would like to be treated.

Lest there be any doubt, that means all members of this administration should work cooperatively to settle any outstanding issues; no more insulting letters; invest in some face to face meetings; and do not under any circumstances continue to muddle about and side with union activists at the hospital.