“I feel very, very confident and optimistic about where we are as an institution,” she said. “On the HSC front, we are able to accrue savings faster than I thought we would. We need to be able to say we are delivering on what we are promising, so this is good news.”

Because of this, Bendapudi noted in a campus-wide email sent Thursday that UofL has requested a smaller loan for the facilities – from the original $50 million to $35 million.

“We are anticipating a procurement savings of more than $7 million annually and we will make operational reductions of nearly $10 million after year one,” she said.

This loan request will be up for a vote in Frankfort during this legislative session.

Also, Aaron Thompson, president of Kentucky’s CPE, visited UofL as the last stop on his state-wide listening tour. He shared high-level observations about college affordability and mental health resources. More information about Thompson’s .Ìę

Provost Beth Boehm also provided an update to senators, noting that UofL kept its dorms open over the winter break, a new decision she called “very successful.”

“There are two groups who especially took advantage of this, LGBTQ students who may not have the opportunity to go home, and international students who may not be able to afford the travel to go home,” she said, adding that meals were donated by a handful of companies during break for those students.

Boehm also noted that the student well-being committee has met to talk about what faculty members can do to help students be more successful, both academically and personally.

“Students have a lot of roadblocks to work around and we need to try to reduce those,” she said.

Other committees up and running since the semester started include:

• IBM group
• Advising work group
• Consensual sexual policy
• Faculty accountability
• Also, an open educational resources committee has been created to ensure our students have easy access to resources

Mark Watkins, senior associate vice president of Operations, and Gary Becker, assistant director of Parking Administration, provided an update on upcoming construction on the Belknap Campus. Starting in May 2020, construction will begin on a new residence hall where the Miller Hall parking lot currently sits. This new residence hall is scheduled to open in August 2021. The existing Miller Hall will be demolished in May 2022.Ìę

In May 2021, Threlkeld Hall will be demolished and construction will begin on a new residence hall at that location in June 2021. It is slated to open August 2022.Ìę

These construction projects are facilitated through $90 million funded from the state.

Additionally, as part of that phase one construction, the Cultural Center will be torn down and rebuilt.Ìę

A brief update was provided from the benefits design work group, which meets in February. In the meantime, the employee benefits guiding principles are .Ìę

The Academic Programs Committee shared two proposals:

• A bachelor of Business Administration from the College of Business. This degree is meant to be more of a generalist degree, versus our current bachelor of science in Business Administration program, which takes a deeper dive into functional areas of business such as accounting, economics and marketing.
• An MS in Materials and Energy Science & Engineering from the Speed School. Currently, UofL does not offer any degrees in advanced materials and energy science and engineering.

Both proposals passed.

Second readings were held for a for the School of Dentistry, and more extensive update for the Speed School of Engineering’s personnel documents, including a . Both were approved.

There was no report from the Student Government. The Staff Senate report from December is and includes a budget update from CFO Dan Durbin. There is no January meeting for that body.

Faculty Chair Krista Wallace-Boaz announced that Kevin Gardner has been named executive vice president for Research and Innovation effective Jan. 27 pending board approval. Gardner comes to UofL from the University of New Hampshire, where he served as vice provost of research.

Wallace-Boaz also presented a timeline for the provost search, expected to ramp up in late February with airport interviews. Three to five individuals will be brought on campus in March and April, and a final committee meeting will be held in April.

The Student Success Center has created a group for campus partners to discuss initiatives regarding first-generation students. Areas of discussion include potential collaboration, prevention of redundant programming and unique obstacles this population faces.

The next Faculty Senate meeting is Feb. 5 in Chao Auditorium.

Prior to her report, with the meeting taking place on Veterans Day, Staff Senate chair John Smith recognized Timothy Dill for his service in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.

Following the approval of minutes, Professor Reginald Bruce shared that two new academic programs have been reviewed and discussed, while :

1. Certificate in LGBTQ Health Studies. The program provides undergraduates with certification in knowledge about the unique healthcare needs of LGBTQ populations. An advantage of this program is it would use many resources that are already in place at UofL. It would also be the first undergraduate program of this kind in the country.
2. Certificate in Organizational Change in Higher łÉÈËֱȄ. It is aimed at preparing postsecondary instructors and faculty members for professional practice related to understanding and managing organizational change within their institutions and units.
3. Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Management, chaired by Dr. Carl Maertz. It has intended date of implementation in fall 2020. The major provides targeted courses in management, requiring functional knowledge of business disciplines and an internship experience in management.

Gary Becker, director of university parking and transportation services, discussed a construction project set to begin on campus that will affect parking. Construction on New Residence Hall 1, which features approximately 450 traditional-style spaces, will start at the end of the 2019-20 academic year, with an anticipated fall 2021 completion date. It will be located between Miller Hall and the Student Activities Center, the current location of the visitor parking lot for the SAC. The reserved lot behind the Red Barn will be closed to allow for the parking of construction trailers and to provide construction vehicles access to the site.

Upon completion of that building, Threlkeld Hall will be razed at the end of the 2021 academic year. New Residence Hall 2, which also features approximately 450 traditional-style spaces, is set for a fall 2022 completion date, and Miller Hall will be razed at the end of that academic year.

President Bendapudi said the acquisition of the KentuckyOne Health Louisville assets is complete. UofL is trying to respect the legacy of these facilities by keeping part of their names; for example, UofL Health – Peace Hospital, and UofL Health – Mary & Elizabeth Hospital. More information about the new names is .

“We are trying to be sensitive to the communities we serve,” she said. “We feel good about turning things around.”

Bendapudi noted that Jewish Hospital was losing about $50 million a year. UofL will receive $33 million a year in funding just for being an academic health institution. UofL is also depending on a $50 million loan from the state to help kick the turnaround plan in place.

“The loan is critical to the success of this turnaround. It will provide long-term stability and continued service,” she said.

Bendapudi added that the risks of not acquiring this system would have been significant. Jewish Hospital, for example, gets about 3,000 emergency visits per month. Further, UofL’s renowned transplant program would have to close, about 1,900 jobs would be lost, equating to about $100 million annually in wages, 60 residents would have to be relocated, and there are additional ramifications.

Several hundred employees participated in the inaugural Cards Come Together event, held during Homecoming Week in October. Bendapudi said she hopes this becomes an annual event.

Raise Some L, also held during Homecoming Week, raised a record amount of money – more than $900,000. This compares to the about $300,000 raised last year.

Finally, Bendapudi said the Strategic Plan is in the implementation phase. There are three committees each under the Learn, Work and Invest focus areas, and two additional committees tasked with identifying our thematic charges (e.g. aging) and how to best implement our CARDINAL principles.

Mary Elizabeth Miles, interim associate vice president for human resources, spoke with the group about programs HR has implemented, including HRtalks and HRlistens, focusing on increasing two-way communication with employees. As part of the 2019-22 Strategic Plan, the initiatives focus on personal growth and professional development to become a “Great Place to Work.”

Miles said there was a decision made regarding hourly, non-exempt employees that have to work during winter break and how the university will compensate them. She said HR is working with a consultant to study job titles and roles of staff to determine how positions at UofL align with those at parallel institutions.

Other reports:

Jason Beare provided a report on employee benefits, which is , regarding future topics being discussed.

The Student Government Association noted that 1,800 pounds of food have been collected for the food pantry. It also was mentioned that students staying on campus during break should email Lydia Burns. SGA worked on an initiative about bike safety with UofL’s Police Department.

Smith spoke about the opening of Chick-fil-A on the HSC campus and informed senators about the university’s settlement with John Schnatter for naming rights to Cardinal Stadium, which athletics paid. The rest of his .

Vice chair Andrew Grubb spoke about his involvement with the UofL Athletics Association and reviewing fees both for 300-level College of Business courses as well as online/distance learning classes.

More reports are . The next Staff Senate meeting is Dec. 9 in Chao Auditorium.

Prior to her presentation, however, three academic programs committee proposals were approved by the body:

1. , which would be housed in the College of Arts & Sciences. The program provides undergraduates with certification in knowledge about the unique healthcare needs of LGBTQ populations. An advantage of this program is it would use many resources that are already in place at UofL. It would also be the first undergraduate program of this kind in the country.
2. , which would be housed in CEHD and aimed at preparing postsecondary instructors and faculty members for professional practice related to understanding and managing organizational change within their institutions and units.
3. The final approval went to a new , chaired by Dr. Carl Maertz, with an intended date of implementation in fall 2020. The major provides targeted courses in management, requiring functional knowledge of business disciplines and an internship experience in management.

President Neeli Bendapudi said the acquisition of the KentuckyOne Health Louisville assets is complete. UofL is trying to respect the legacy of these facilities by keeping part of their names; for example, UofL Health – Peace Hospital, and UofL Health – Mary & Elizabeth Hospital. More information about the new names is .

“We are trying to be sensitive to the communities we serve,” she said. “We feel good about turning things around.”

Bendapudi noted that Jewish Hospital was losing about $50 million a year. UofL will receive $33 million a year in funding just for being an academic health institution. UofL is also depending on a $50 million loan from the state to help kick the turnaround plan in place.

“The loan is critical to the success of this turnaround. It will provide long-term stability and continued service,” she said.

Bendapudi added that the risks of not acquiring this system would have been significant. Jewish Hospital, for example, gets about 3,000 emergency visits per month.

“There is nowhere else in the city or state that can accommodate those patients,” she said. “Where would they go?”

Further, UofL’s renowned transplant program would have to close, about 1,900 jobs would be lost equating to about $100 million annually in wages, 60 residents would have to be relocated and more.

“We would have lost faculty and our R1 research status would have been jeopardized,” Bendapudi said. “This adds the best stability for not only our academic and research mission, but more importantly for patient care.”

Several hundred employees participated in the inaugural Cards Come Together event held during Homecoming Week in October. Bendapudi said she hopes this becomes an annual event.

Raise Some L, also held during Homecoming Week, raised a record amount of money – more than $900,000. This compares to the about-$300,000 raised last year.

“This shows a sense of pride about the university and that our support is increasing and that much is a good sign,” Bendapudi said.

Finally, Bendapudi said the Strategic Plan is in the implementation phase. There are three committees each under the Learn, Work and Invest focus areas, and two additional committees tasked with identifying our thematic charges (e.g. aging) and how to best implement our CARDINAL principles.

Provost Beth Boehm also provided a report, noting that we’re struggling with enrollment – a general theme across the country due to changing demographics and less students. This year, for example, we are down by 122 students, which translates to about $1.9 million. One of our priorities is to make sure we aren’t affected by the December to January melt, when some students drop out. Boehm called on faculty to engage with students as much as they can.

“We make a big difference in a student’s experience here,” she said.

Boehm has also charged an advising committee to develop a more coordinated advising system between schools.

“We want every student to have a consistent experience,” she said.

Mary Elizabeth Miles, interim associate VP for HR, was introduced to the body and provided an overview of some of the work that has been done since she assumed that role earlier this year. She said HR plans to administer a comprehensive study of the staff, including roles and salaries, to get a better sense of how UofL lines up with other institutions. She is also focused on increasing communication from HR and has added HR Talks sessions on campus. The sessions will continue to be advertised in UofL Today.

Other reports

The Student Government Association reported that 471 Metropolitan College students took advantage of the priority registration window. SGA will keep an eye on the impacts this initiative has on retention. Ìę

The Staff Senate report from October is .

Elaine Wise, the Faculty Athletics Representative, reported that UofL’s student-athletes generated a

Krista Wallace-, noting that the new committee on student wellbeing has held its first meeting. The committee includes four subcommittees: wellbeing and resilience; suicide prevention; faculty roles; and tool kits for faculty, staff and students.

Also, Sandy Russell has been appointed as interim vice president for Enterprise Risk Management, Audit and Compliance, and the top four candidates for the EVPRI position have been identified and are currently scheduled for on-campus forums.

. The next Faculty Senate meeting is Dec. 4 in Chao Auditorium.

The transition of ownership from KentuckyOne’s parent company, CommonSpirit Health, to the university’s UofL Health affiliate is effective Nov. 1. Some 5,500 former KentuckyOne employees have now joined UofL and UofL Health, which has assumed management of the assets.

“This is an exciting and historic day for the University of Louisville,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “This acquisition enables us to ensure access to quality health care for our entire community, and it strengthens our School of Medicine and our Health Sciences Center campus by allowing us to offer more training opportunities for our students and more research capacity for our faculty. It also saves thousands of jobs that could have been lost if any of these facilities closed.”

UofL is acquiring the KentuckyOne assets with the promise of a critical $50 million, 20-year loan from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority. Half of that loan would be forgiven if the university meets certain criteria in terms of employment or service to underserved areas. The Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence and the Jewish Hospital and St. Mary’s Foundation also are investing in the deal, contributing $10 million and $40 million, respectively.

“We owe such a debt of gratitude to our partners—Governor Matt Bevin, the leadership of the House and Senate and these foundations—for making this transaction a reality,” Bendapudi said.

She also thanked the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and leaders of the local Jewish community for the legacy of care they have created over more than a century of work in the Louisville community.

The purchase includes:

• Jewish Hospital, including the Outpatient Center, Rudd Heart and Lung Center, offices and parking garages;
• Frazier Rehabilitation Institute;
• Sts. Mary and Elizabeth Hospital;
• Our Lady of Peace;
• Jewish Hospital Shelbyville;
• Jewish Medical Centers East, Northeast, South and Southwest;
• Physicians groups affiliated with KentuckyOne.

All of the assets will be rebranded under the UofL Health umbrella.

“Today marks an important moment for the future of health care in the Louisville community, and I want to thank everyone who contributed to the successful completion of this transition,” said Larry Schumacher, senior vice president of Operations, Southeast Division, CommonSpirit Health. “As we transfer the ownership and operations to UofL Health, I am optimistic that these facilities will continue their legacy of excellence and innovation led by the outstanding employees and providers.”

The has previously operated under the shared ownership of UofL and the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence. JHFE has relinquished its ownership and real estate interest, valued at more than $16 million.

The university took the opportunity to mark the occasion by recognizing and thanking JHFE for its support.

“Since 2006, the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute has provided world-class resources for UofL faculty researchers and physicians to study the myriad of causes of cardiovascular disease and develop ways to treat and ultimately cure it,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “We thank the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence for being our worthy partner in this effort and promise that we will continue this important work for the health of current and future generations to come.”

The move to UofL’s sole ownership has been planned for some time and coincided with JHFE’s continued evolution into a purely grant-making organization.Ìę

“We are proud to have been a part of the CII and its mission to improve lives through world-class cardiovascular research, scientific discovery and new enterprise creation,” said Linda Schuster, JHFE Board of Trustees chair. “We look forward to seeing amazing discoveries from the CII in the years and decades ahead.”

Since its opening in 2006, the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute has been engaged in leading edge research for the development, testing, regulatory approval and clinical evaluation of game-changing technologies. The institute employs a multidisciplinary team of investigators to address the complete spectrum of causes and treatments for cardiovascular disease.

“In Kentucky alone, cardiovascular-related diseases account for close to 75 percent of all deaths,” said Toni Ganzel, dean of the UofL School of Medicine. “The CII conducts basic, clinical, translational and population research in cardiovascular disease as it affects individuals throughout their entire lifespan.”

The team has led and secured nearly $39 million in external grants and contracts, with $28 million focused toward innovative cardiovascular-assist devices. These technologies have ranged from the exploration of new cell-based platforms for the revascularization of cardiovascular and neural tissues, to the creation of chambers for surgery in outer space and battlefield environments, to the investigation of novel mechanical devices to aid a patient’s heart in circulating blood throughout the body. All of these technologies were created with the sole intent of improving the quality of life of heart failure patients.Ìę

Initial funding to construct the facility and to support research was provided by Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Healthcare, KentuckyOne Health’s predecessor, along with UofL, Kosair Charities, the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and Department of Commercialization and Innovation and the Gheens Foundation. Federal appropriations were secured through the efforts of Sen. Mitch McConnell.

Laman Gray, MD, Jewish Hospital Chair in Cardiovascular Surgery at UofL, is executive and medical director of the CII. An internationally-recognized leader in the fields of cardiac surgery and development of artificial hearts and circulatory support systems, Gray’s accomplishments include performing the first heart transplant in Kentucky in 1984 and the first bridge to heart transplant after the use of a Thoratec Bi-Ventricular Assist Device in the United States in 1985. He also performed the first clinical use of ABIOMED’s SupraCor intra-aortic balloon pump and was one of the four primary clinical investigators that brought ABIOMED’s BVS 5000 temporary cardiac support system to clinical approval by the FDA. In 2001 Gray and his surgical team implanted the first artificial heart into Robert Tools, who lived five additional months on the device.

Video from the news conference is available below:Ìę

Bendapudi provided an update on the 2019 budget, which she noted is the first time the HSC campus broke even. HSC programming, particularly pediatrics, is expensive to run, costing about $12 million to $15 million a year. This is why UofL pursued its recent partnership with Norton Children’s Hospital.

“This partnership supports our teaching and academic mission, provides for better care and helps with the budget,” she said.

Bendapudi also discussed the in which UofL reached an agreement to assume its Louisville-area assets. The agreement came two months after initial negotiations ended when UofL could not find a suitable partner to help fund the acquisition. However, support from both the state and two local foundations revived the talks to save the struggling Jewish Hospital and other vital area medical facilities.Ìę

“In June, we said we couldn’t do the deal because the terms were not good for us. What changed since then is we were able to get the right support,” Bendapudi said. “This deal helps with our teaching mission, our research mission. It helps us attract the best faculty and get grant money. Most importantly, it helps with clinical care.”

Jewish Hospital receives about 3,000 ER visits a month and, of those patients, about 19% are admitted.

“These are our neighbors. Where would they go? How are we fostering equity if these huge numbers of patients don’t have a bed?” Bendapudi said.

These assets also generate about $300 million worth in payroll, so she reiterated the impact it would have on employees in the community.

“We still have a lot of work to do, don’t get me wrong. But this is the right thing to do for the Commonwealth,” Bendapudi said.

Bendapudi also noted that the three-year time frame for the Strategic Plan starts now. UofL will host kickoff events for the plan Sept. 23 and 24.

“We all need to hold each other accountable so we can make sure this is a great place to work.” she said. “I’m excited to get started. After a year of plugging holes, we can now look at this plan and ask, how can we grow?”

Provost Boehm provided an update from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities conference she attended over the summer. One of the biggest topics discussed at the event was student mental health and Boehm is charging a committee that looks at faculty/staff roles in student mental health. She also noted that the Counseling Center is moving back to the Belknap Campus, either in January or February, with a space at the SAC.

“Forty-six percent of students have a diagnosable mental health issue and half of those are untreated. Seventy-six percent of college students say that mental health issues interfere with their academics. This is a critical topic that we are going to focus on,” she said.

“The best determinant of how well a student performs is if one adult shows they care about them,” Bendapudi added. “Please look out for our students. I can’t think of anything we do that is more important.”

Regular meeting

Dr. Ralph Fitzpatrick, senior vice president for Community Engagement, opened up the regular meeting to discuss the Cards Come Together initiative. This inaugural week of service, led by UofL President Neeli Bendapudi, will feature several service projects across the city as well as collection sites on campus. The objective is to get 1,000 faculty, staff and students to participate. A complete list of projects is available online at events.louisville.edu/cardscometogether.

A kickoff celebration will be held at the Red Barn Oct. 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Todd Kneale, director of Total Rewards, reminded staff senators that open enrollment is Oct. 23 through Nov. 6 and HR will issue a number of communications prior. He also provided an update on the health insurance increases scheduled to go into place in 2020.

These increases are in response to the market and to UofL’s previous approach to ratios, which he said were not actuarially based. Correcting them will be a multi-year process, starting with the 2020 increases. More details will be sent about those plans and the increases this week.

Lydia Burns gave an update from SGA, which is hosting a “Chat with the (UofL Police) Chief” on Sept. 16 to discuss safety initiatives on campus. The group will also host Constitution Day at the Red Barn Sept. 17 with a number of representatives expected to participate.

The , ÌęČčČÔ»ć are all available online.

The next Staff Senate meeting is Oct. 14 in CTR 101/102 on the HSC Campus.

As part of the new agreement, UofL will pay $10 million to acquire the assets from KentuckyOne’s parent company, CommonSpirit Health, while CommonSpirit will forgive $19.7 million in outstanding promissory notes from University Medical Center Inc. Additionally, UofL will assume more than $76 million in accounts receivable from KentuckyOne, providing an immediate source of capital.

To help secure the purchase, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin and Economic Development Cabinet Secretary Vivek Sarin have promised to support a $50 million, 20-year loan – half of which will be forgiven if the university meets certain criteria in areas of employment or service to underserved areas of the community and commonwealth. Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers and Speaker of the House David Osborne also expressed support for the loan.

Further, the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence and the Jewish Hospital and St. Mary’s Foundation, are investing in the facilities, contributing $10 million and $40 million respectively, to be paid throughout four years.

These outside investments are vital to the agreement, as they help offset the significant financial risk such a purchase poses to the university, according to UofL President Neeli Bendapudi.

While acknowledging the risk, she stressed the upside of the acquisitions, noting the additional medical facilities will strengthen UofL’s academic medical center, providing more opportunity for residents and students at the university’s Health Sciences Center. The additional facilities and resources also will provide venues in which to conduct leading-edge research and entice more clinical trials, external funding and renowned faculty to the university.

“These medical facilities and the thousands of professionals who work there have for decades provided outstanding and important medical care to patients throughout our community and beyond,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “We are proud to protect that legacy and to ensure the continuation of that care as we acquire and enhance these facilities.”

Bevin added that the preservation of these healthcare programs, services and jobs are vital to UofL, the UofL Medical School, Metro Louisville and the entire Commonwealth.Ìę

“UofL’s acquisition of the KentuckyOne facilities will maintain more than 5,000 jobs in the healthcare sector and ensure that our healthcare delivery system in Metro Louisville is preserved,” he said. “I am confident that this acquisition will further the incredible medical research occurring at these facilities, while simultaneously meeting the growing demand for quality, cutting-edge health care services.”Ìę

The purchase includes:

• Jewish Hospital, including the Outpatient Center, Rudd Heart and Lung Center, offices and parking garages
• Frazier Rehab Institute
• Mary and Elizabeth Hospital
• Our Lady of Peace
• Jewish Hospital Shelbyville
• Jewish Medical Centers East, Northeast, South and Southwest
• Physicians groups affiliated with KentuckyOne

Services provided by UofL physicians at Jewish Hospital include organ transplantation, cardiovascular medicine and neurological surgery. The hospital is home to the only solid organ transplant facility in the region, and UofL’s renowned clinical care and research in cardiovascular medicine and spinal cord injury are conducted at Jewish and Frazier Rehab.

Approved by the UofL Board of Trustees at its meeting this morning, the sale is expected to close Nov. 1 pending regulatory approvals and the consent of the Catholic Church, which must approve the sale of Sts. Mary and Elizabeth and Our Lady of Peace. As part of the agreement, the facilities will be branded under the UofL Health umbrella.

Once the deal is closed, UofL will assume management of the facilities.

“This has been an arduous process, and it took an outstanding team and hard work to get us to this point,” Bendapudi said. “I want to thank our governmental leaders, our trustees, the foundations and, of course, our team led by Tom Miller, CEO of UofL Health, University Counsel Tom Hoy and Dan Durbin, UofL CFO, for their dogged efforts to make this happen. Tom Miller’s remarkable work in restoring the financial standing of UofL Hospital in less than a year gives us confidence that we can have similar success in turning around these assets.”

Check out the press conference announcing the deal below:Ìę

President Bendapudi: It did not turn out that we had attractive options. The offers we got were not viable.

We are really referring to a couple of things. One is finding a partner that would invest the dollars to make sure that we could run all these hospitals in a sustainable manner. As you know, with many of these, there would be fresh infusions of cash required for deferred maintenance, for IT, for those types of things. And (second), Ìęduring negotiations, you realize whether it’s possible to come to an agreement or not, and in this case, it was not.

We know that our most important obligation is to the University of Louisville. We need to make sure that we are financially viable and sustainable, and that we thrive.

How much money are you talking about?

President Bendapudi:ÌęIt’s hard to say. I don’t want to pinpoint a particular number but we were looking for a partner that would keep this viable. During the process we had three potential suitors
trying to see if this would work. In the timeframe, however, they all needed significantly longer. I’m not avoiding the question, but candidly, how much is required is dependent upon the structure of the deal. How much equity would we give out? What would happen? That’s why I’m not able to tell you. If someone came in and said, ‘we just want 10 percent,’ it would look very different from if we were going to be full partners.

What happens now?

President Bendapudi:ÌęThe good news is that both parties are committed to an orderly transition. What I am happy to tell you is that all of our agreements have been extended with no real end date. Our Academic Affiliation Agreement and Master Services Agreement are still in place. If these are to end for any reason, we have to be given a 90-day notice.

We are very reassured that 
 for the residents’ training 
 we have an agreement that if Jewish Hospital were sold, those residency slots transfer to the university or to the facility of our choosing.

Down the road, if KentuckyOne finds a partner who is not interested in extending your agreement, what happens then?

President Bendapudi:ÌęThere’s a minimum of a 90-day notice (from KentuckyOne Health) we would have to be given about a potential partner. And even then, I’m confident that given the long history of this community and the importance (of these facilities) to it, it would be a very orderly process. We have been doing contingency planning so that none of our programs is at risk. We would have to find alternative locations for the services we provide. Or maybe a potential buyer would say they want to work with us; that’s possible.

How do you guarantee these programs’ protection?

President Bendapudi:ÌęOur agreements are all in place, so for our doctors, other health care providers that are working in these facilities – nothing is imminent. There’s no problem. If (KentuckyOne Health) says they are going to shut down a facility, then we would move our programs. We would have new AAAs and MSAs with the places where we would practice and for the services we would provide. In our contingency planning we have been looking at what we can move to our facilities and we are looking at the other health systems – Norton (Healthcare) and Baptist (Health System). I have reached out to both CEOs. A lot of what we already have done has been is putting all the data into a data room
and verifying all the numbers that both sides were getting. 
 So the conversations (with Norton and Baptist) are not new. In contingency planning, that’s what you do: If this happens, what will we do? If this doesn’t happen, what will we do? So none of this is starting from zero because clearly, we’ve all been thinking about this as have they.

What was your level of confidence going into this and how surprising or disappointing is it that you could not find a partner?

President Bendapudi:ÌęGoing in, we knew that we had to look. It really was a moral obligation that we, as a university, had to try to keep (Jewish) open. Internally we knew that it was a toss-up whether we could do it but it’s one of those things where you say, “be brave and try.” So I give credit to our Board and to our people that we said, “we must try.”Ìę Are we disappointed? Yes. Because it would have been great to make this work. But I have to say that discretion is the better part of valor. Looking at the numbers that we saw, we could not see how we could do it in a way that would not jeopardize the university.

Again, we owed it to the university, to the community to try (and make this deal). We had an obligation to try. We were enthusiastic about the potential. It was really important to give it everything we had. And we did.

The press conference in its entirety is available here:Ìę

Talks were halted because UofL could not find a suitable partner to help fund the acquisition. UofL officials were not willing to put the university at financial risk by taking on the acquisition alone.

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“We regret ending our talks with CHI, but we must do what is fiscally responsible for the University of Louisville,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “Without a viable partner, we do not have the resources necessary to make the acquisition a reality.”

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“KentuckyOne Health is disappointed that the university was not able to secure a financial partner,” said Deborah Lee-Eddie, interim market CEO for KentuckyOne Health. “We will now continue our discussions with other interested organizations.”

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UofL and CHI have agreed to several steps as the two parties work on the changes in their relationship.

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CHI will extend the Academic Affiliation Agreement to ensure that undergraduate and graduate/resident medical education programs continue at Jewish Hospital and Frazier Rehab Institute. If programs cannot be continued at those facilities, CHI will assign those residencies to another facility requested by the university.

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The AAA is an agreement that provides conditions under which the university’s physicians and medical residents provide care for patients, serve in leadership roles for various hospital programs and services and conduct clinical trials that offer innovative treatments unavailable anywhere else in the region.

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CHI also has agreed to continue the current professional services, medical directorships and similar provisions included in the Master Services Agreement while it and UofL discuss transition planning. CHI will provide at least 90 days notice before terminating any of those individual agreements.

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Ìę“Our patients will continue to receive the highest quality care, and our students and residents will continue to receive the education and training they must have to become future providers,” Bendapudi said. “That is our unwavering commitment.”

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KentuckyOne’s local properties also include Our Lady of Peace, Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital, Jewish Hospital Medical Centers East, South, Southwest and Northeast, Jewish Hospital Shelbyville and the KentuckyOne Health Medical Group.

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UofL and CHI have negotiated in good faith on the purchase of the portfolio only since December 2018.

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Services provided by UofL physicians at Jewish Hospital include organ transplantation, cardiovascular medicine and neurological surgery. The hospital is home to the only solid organ transplant facility in the region, and UofL’s renowned clinical care and research in cardiovascular medicine and spinal cord injury are conducted at Jewish and Frazier Rehab.

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Bendapudi applauded all those who tried to make a deal for the KentuckyOne assets a reality.

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“Everyone involved in these talks put dedication and hard work into them, and I thank them all,” she said. “This endeavor did not fail for lack of effort on the part of either party.”

At least in terms of management of University of Louisville Hospital and the James Graham Brown Cancer Center.

On July 1, University Medical Center again took over as manager of the two facilities following four years of a joint operating agreement with KentuckyOne Health. Both companies agreed in December to dissolve the JOA.

“While it appears that it is the ‘good old days’ it truly is a new era,” said Ken Marshall, president and chief executive officer of UofL Hospital and the James Graham Brown Cancer Center. “In the coming years, we will be a leader in our region for providing the highest quality of care in a patient-centered way. All the while, UofL Hospital will continue be the primary adult teaching hospital for the UofL School of Medicine and provide care to all who come to our doors.”

Marshall and his team have accomplished in approximately six months what typically takes at least a year – stand up an entire organization. This includes creating the executive team, hiring an entire staff and putting into place everything necessary so that patients who need care have the best experience possible.

“We were fortunate in that every single person who had been working at UofL Hospital and the Brown Cancer Center accepted our offer to continue working there under UMC management,” said Shari Kretzschmer, chief nursing officer. “This eliminated a significant amount of time in recruiting and training staff. But we continue to bring on more, high-quality staff so that the care we provide is unsurpassed in its quality.”

Some services will be purchased from KentuckyOne Health on a short-term basis, lasting no longer than 18 months. These are services such as information technology and group purchasing.

“The effort of the entire team during the past six months has been Herculean,” Marshall said. “The collaboration with our physician leadership cannot be stressed enough. What we have seen is emblematic of the attitude all of us share – it’s about our patients.”