February 23, 2015 5:00 pm
Published by Michael
If the sale is approved, Prime would assume the operations of Mercy, currently owned by Trinity Health, a Livonia-based nonprofit that operates several Michigan hospitals.
One of Mercy Hospitals current operations is the Peoplesa Clinic.
The clinic gets some of its funding from a nearly $500,000 endowment to support the Peoplesa Clinic bequeathed by Port Huron businesswoman and philanthropist Helen David, who died in 2006 at the age of 91.
The clinic also has an endowment of $434,946 through the St. Joseph Mercy, as well as whether and how the Peoplesa Clinic would continue to be funded.
aWe think that disclosure is owed to the public and to those of us who have worked with the Peoplesa Clinic on a regular basis,a Touma said.
Currently, the Peoplesa Clinic and the Mercy Hospital Foundation are not independent charities separate from Mercy Hospital.
The clinic is held under the charitable corporate umbrella of Mercy, and the hospital foundation is a department or informal entity within the Mercy Hospital system, according to the Community Foundation of St. Joseph Mercy Health System, Trinity Health in Ann Arbor, and Prime released a joint statement Wednesday in an email to the Times Herald.
According to the statement, aSaint Joseph Mercy Health System is working with Prime to ensure the Peoplesa Clinic, a clinic which serves the poor and underserved, will continue its current mission in providing charitable care to the larger community.a
aSaint Joseph Mercy Health System is working with Prime to determine the appropriate treatment of donor-restricted funds to ensure that they will remain in the community and be used in a manner consistent with the intent of its donors.a
Specifics as to the organizational structuring and oversight of the clinic were unanswered due to an agreement with Prime to limit public statements while the sale is under review by the Attorney Generalas office, according to the statement.
Touma said his clients and others in the community would like disclosure now, and that there is no need to wait for the Attorney General to finish its review, which could still take months.
The Helen David trust provides only part of the clinicas funding, but other donors and potential donors to the clinic have been asking for assurances that their gifts will be used as intended, Touma said.
aIf someone wants to make a gift, they want to make sure the gift will be used for its intended purpose. Joseph Mercy and Community Mental Health announced Friday.
The clinic will continue to be structured and operated by Mercy, which will lease the space from Community Mental Health.
aThis is good news and a step in the right direction,a Maiers said of the relocation.
aCommunity Mental Health will be a great partner for the Peoplesa Clinic. Weall accept whatever decision he makes,a Kelly said.
If the community is due a share of the transaction, Kelly said, aWe think it would be appropriate that if there are proceeds to be allocated here, that they be allocated to a fund within the Community Foundation for the benefit of the community.a
The Community Foundation said the third issue is what happens to money that has been donated to the Mercy Hospital Foundation.
Like the Peoplesa Clinic, the foundation has accepted community membersa charitable donations.
