[circletrack]

Originally Posted by Cedwards38

(1) I don't think Lauren Ritchie lied. It's her job to report to us the facts as she finds them, and as a columnist, it's also her job to express her opinion about what she discovers. Journalists have standards to follow in reporting and in opining, and if she lied, the she may be subject to professional censure or damages in court. I'm seriously doubting that an experienced journalist would take that chance over something like this.

(2) I don't think Lauren Ritchie is trying to be "Woodward and Bernstein." Again, it's her job. This is not a matter of national security like the Pentagon Papers, and she doesn't make that claim. She simply uncovered a set of facts, reported them to us, and opined about the values of that action as she saw them, which as has been stated is part of her job.

(3) Like many of you, I admire the Morse family and the wonder and magic they have created here in The Villages. But let's not kid ourselves. They made the place nice for one reason, because nice attracts more home buyers. Nothing wrong with that. They had an idea and developed it and it made them rich. BRAVO! But don't kid yourself into thinking that the attention to detail and the plethora of amenities in The Villages was done as a favor to us. It was done to attract all of us to come spend large sums of money in the Morse family business. I'm fine with that, and so should we all be. But it was not humanitarianism. It was capitalism.

(4) Ritchie's point, as I read it, was that a piece of equipment was purchased with funds raised by the generous giving of individuals in this community because they had been solicited, and when Moffitt pulled out (for whatever reason) the equipment was sold to the new tenant. I guess the "Collective Us" gave the money, purchased the equipment, and gave it to the hospital. We gave it, so they could do as they saw fit, including selling it. But I do see her point that this seems to be profiting on the charity of others, and there is some shame in that. Maybe the hospital sold it because the new service provider demanded that they be allowed to own it, or the new service provider needed to own it for liability or insurance purposes, or whatever other reason that is unbeknownst to us. If the hospital spokesperson had simply been forthcoming with Ritchie when she inquired, and told the reason, and the reason was justifiable, then there is no shame, thus no Ritchie article. Under the current circumstances, I think many of us will be a bit reluctant to contribute donations again for purchases like this one.

(5) Even though Ritchie has a point, I'm not terribly troubled, yet. The equipment is still there. It's still available to the citizens of this community, including those who contributed toward it's purchase. If that changes, then the stakes are raised for me.

The problem I see with her column is that she presented no proof that the equipment was actually sold.

She mentioned a few times that she was unable to confirm that through FCS or the hospital, yet continued to to state that it was in fact sold.

[Cedwards38]

Originally Posted by circletrack

The problem I see with her column is that she presented no proof that the equipment was actually sold.

She mentioned a few times that she was unable to confirm that through FCS or the hospital, yet continued to to state that it was in fact sold.

I see your point, but if it is in question about whether the equipment was sold or not, why didn't the spokesperson for the Alliance refute the claim instead of:

".............The hospital company, which had partnered with Moffitt for five years, initially would not confirm even that the accelerator bought with Villagers' donations had been sold to the company replacing Moffitt."

And:

"The Alliance refused to answer questions about why it decided to sell rather than, say, lease the accelerator so it could control its location. It declined to state the price of the sale, what it intended to do with the money and whether there was any plan that would in some way repay or at least benefit The Villages, which made the purchase possible. Through W. Frank Faust, administrative director of marketing, the company refused even generally to describe its new relationship with Florida Cancer Specialists or to answer whether its structure would promote what doctors call "self-referral," sending patients to practices or treatments in which they have a financial stake."

And finally:

"Faust stumbled a bit and mentioned something about "complex modalities," pledging to follow up with an email explanation later. He didn't."

This language from the Ritchie article implies that Mr. Faust from the Alliance confirmed the sale of the equipment, but if that is not correct then he had the opportunity to easily and finally refute that claim, and make it go away. But as she states, "He didn't."

[Number 6]

Originally Posted by Quietman

You got it right this time. Lets look back a littlte.

1.Morse's wife Sharon died of cancer. He cared for her very much- even named a building after her.
2.He wanted to attract a first class cancer practice to the Villages.
3.He attracted Moffitt by dangling free use (or low rental fees) of great equipment.
4.Donations were requested from Villagers and they responded.
5.The equipment belongs to the Villages hospital (non-profit)
6.Moffitt could not or would not expand their services her and decided to pull out when lease expired.
7.New tenant can use the equipment however the hospital decides. Developer has no control and no investment in it and CANNOT sell it.

Number 3 is illegal as it violates the anti-kickback (Stark) statutes. I seriously doubt that TVH would do that. More likely some entity associated with TV owned the equipment and billed the Technical Component. The real profit in cancer care is in owning the equipment.

[Warren Kiefer]

Originally Posted by billethkid

i would expect an accounting for the donations that were committed to the "moffitt cancer center".

Since we are speculating we are entitled to think out loud. Maybe the agreement was what it is and has expired per the plan. Could have been an agreement of sorts to get the cancer center up, running and established.
Mission accomplished.

So many events that used to be handled in tv for cancer celebrations were disallowed when moffitt came on the scene.....for example relay for life.

I am impressed with how little is being reported about the current actions.

it is my opinion that i and many others were led to believe that the moffitt cancer center would be a fixture in the villages for years. I now wonder if the whole thing was a hoax to get the residents to donate a lot of money ??

[Bogie Shooter]

Should some of the "blame" be on Moffitt?

[dillywho]

Lauren Ritchie has always had an axe to grind with The Villages.

She's got plenty to do in Orlando.

[dillywho]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

Should some of the "blame" be on Moffitt?

Exactly! As I see it, and I am privy to nothing, they failed to hold up their end of the bargain. That being said, economics involved in the health care business could well have contributed to their decision.

Why is there a "need" to blame anyone? No one that I know of was forced to contribute anything. It was all voluntary. Contributions are taken for all sorts of things not even remotely related to anything in The Villages. Don't think Miss Busybody Ritchie gets herself involved in those.....perhaps she should.

[dillywho]

Originally Posted by Number 6

Thinking back to that time, what bothered me was we were not "asked to", but were "expected to" donate.

I've been here and I don't remember any such "expectations". Ours have always been to maintain our property, pay our mortgage, pay our taxes, pay our amenity fees, respect other's property, etc. Anyone can "ask" for anything without any "expectation". That's why it is a "request" not a requirement.

[chuckinca]

Originally Posted by Quietman

You got it right this time. Lets look back a littlte.


4.Donations were requested from Villagers and they responded.

Donations were also requested from neighboring communities using TV Regional Hospital and they responded.

.

[dillywho]

I still do not understand why people come here expecting basically a free ride on everything and when it is not, then the Developer is just too greedy for words.

For crying out loud, I do not remember anything like that nor did I move here with that expectation. What we were told, is that there are many, many, many activities from which to choose....or not. We were not told that this is a gated community. We were told that we would play the executive courses for no green fees and that the country clubs would be at a reduced fee depending on whether we wanted Resident or Priority. We were told that we could use our golf carts to get around most places. When we did our preview in 2002, golf carts could only be operated daylight to dark. Thanks to the efforts of the awful Developer, by the time we moved here early 2004, that had changed to 24 hours a day. (Apparently, this has to do with country government since the Marion County portion of TV was granted the 24 hour operation first.)

The only thing I cannot remember being told or included in our preview or the brochure/tape is that our primary "activity" would be going from doctor to doctor to doctor.

That's just a beginning list of all this. I could go on, but what's the point? I did not come here to complain about any and everything and worry about everything that is not like it is where I came from. If any of you want what you had, then why did you come or better yet, why not just go back? Do I miss some of the things "back home"? Yes. Is it a big deal? No. So far, this is still a free country, and NONE of us is being forced to stay. I choose to stay, just as I chose to come here.

[dillywho]

Sorry for the double post....was just trying to edit #76.

[Number 6]

Originally Posted by dillywho

I've been here and I don't remember any such "expectations". Ours have always been to maintain our property, pay our mortgage, pay our taxes, pay our amenity fees, respect other's property, etc. Anyone can "ask" for anything without any "expectation". That's why it is a "request" not a requirement.

Here is my memory. The Cancer Center was to be constructed in Leesburg until the Developer offered to have the residents donate to a fund to buy the equipment (first $2MM then $6MM) if a matching center was built in TVH. For a time most of the fundraising in TV was for the Moffitt Center. Didn't Relay for Life get involved? Anyway the Leesburg center was never built and here we are with Moffitt leaving. I remember the "expectation" on the part of the Developer that the residents would be happy to donate. Some of us were not.

Having said that, I am not concerned with the sale of the equipment if the contract has some protection for TVH getting the equipment yanked (not easy) and ending up with an empty vault. I hope they did a joint venture.

[MoeVonB61]

If I EVER get cancer, would not go to Moffitt anyway.....DEFINITELY would go to Dr. Jon Anderson from RBOI, right next to the Villages hospital and staying there....

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by mrich61

If I EVER get cancer, would not go to Moffitt anyway.....DEFINITELY would go to Dr. Jon Anderson from RBOI, right next to the Villages hospital and staying there....

Usually when you are diagnosed with cancer you will need the BEST Oncologist/hematologist, and the best radiologist, the best surgeon and the best nurses and nutritionists. You want them to be someone who has seen YOUR kind of cancer many, MANY times and work as a team.


Is Dr. Jon Anderson a radiologist ? Is RBI the one who has full page ads on the back of the POA Bulletin?


I would go to Tampa or Gainesville. I believe that one's chances to survive cancer increase by picking the facility that is sees and treats a LOT of the kind of cancer you have, even if it isn't close to you geographically.


Been there done that and thank GOD had a wonderful oncology group in Cincinnati.

[zcaveman]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Usually when you are diagnosed with cancer you will need the BEST Oncologist/hematologist, and the best radiologist, the best surgeon and the best nurses and nutritionists. You want them to be someone who has seen YOUR kind of cancer many, MANY times and work as a team.


Is Dr. Jon Anderson a radiologist ? Is RBI the one who has full page ads on the back of the POA Bulletin?


I would go to Tampa or Gainesville. I believe that one's chances to survive cancer increase by picking the facility that is sees and treats a LOT of the kind of cancer you have, even if it isn't close to you geographically.


Been there done that and thank GOD had a wonderful oncology group in Cincinnati.

I went to RBOI and survived. I thought it was a very professional and caring place to go.

They did the radiation and my chemo was done at the oncologist's office.

Z