Health Foundation: Public interest, private benevolence

Wednesday, July 2, 2003 - by Peter Golden

Tax law, as most lawyers and accountants will tell you, is a tricky business; so too is caring for the poor, indigent and those in special need.

Between the letter of the law and the thousands throughout the 25 communities of MetroWest who have come to increasingly depend on the MetroWest Community Health Foundation for all sorts of reasons, a question has arisen: What's the best way to conserve the resources of the Foundation and ensure the endowment that funds it is properly distributed?

The question hangs between two organizations, that, while joined at the hip by law and intention, have become increasingly separate from each other, and not by accident. The first, MetroWest Health, Inc., is a conservator—an overseer of the money that came from the sale of the Leonard Morse and Framingham Union Hospitals to private interests in the mid-1990s. While the sale was contentious and perceived as a loss by many in the community, it is notable that half a decade later, both continue to provide a high level of service to the general community.

Also notable is the condition and role of MetroWest Community Health Foundation. While it has suffered erosion in its capital assets in recent years, like most private and institutional investors in what has been generally observed to be a horrendous decline in equity values, it remains well-endowed and resolute in its mission to create a community-based approach to health maintenance and prevention.

nterestingly, the central figures in MetroWest Health, Inc., Allan McLean and Roger Peloquin, have publicly stated they have no brief against MetroWest Community Health Foundation in terms of intentions or operations. It is the legal form that the Foundation has taken that concerns them, so much that they are hedging on turning over approximately $46 million due from the sale of a remainder interest in the two hospitals, which by long-ratified agreement, is due to the Foundation, whatever form it takes.

Health Inc., the domain of Mr. Peloquin and Mr. McLean, through the unanimous consent of its board, seeks clarification from the Supreme Judicial Court as to the appropriateness of the tax law under which the Foundation has chartered itself. Health Inc. earnestly claims that public money has somehow ended up in private hands, and in doing so matters of public trust and financial efficiency have been breached.

Health Inc. cites a previous ruling of the court as precedent for its action, witness a letter requiring conflicts between Health Inc. and the Foundation to be adjudicated by the court itself. Short of that, the two parties, under a mediation arranged by Phil Lemnios, Natick town manager, will try to resolve their issues over the next 30 days. Smart money suggests such an outcome is unlikely.

If at this juncture your taste for this discussion has sunk to the level of extreme boredom, you are not alone. At a recent joint meeting of the Framingham and Natick boards of selectmen, numerous individuals stood to share similar sentiments, most of them directed at Peloquin and McLean. As has often been the case throughout history, the distinction between a conservator and a usurper has blurred on Health Inc.'s watch, to the extent that certain cynics suggest their claims are based on the rank desire to extend their control over the $46 million due the Foundation. Both Peloquin and McLean, however, remain resolute, as does the board, which is composed of top-caliber executives and managers.

Notably, Health Inc. is due to turn into a pumpkin on December 31st of this year, so their proposal to have the court set up a "public" receiver for the monies accruing from the sale, rather than turn it over directly to the Foundation, might be construed as disingenuous. Remember, Peloquin and McLean have publicly stated that they have no brief with the operational conduct of the Foundation. A quick review of Foundation activity will show why.

For those who wish to understand more fully what it takes to impact the overall health of 25 communities comprising of nearly 400,000 people, we recommend two publications of the Foundation: "MetroWest Health Data Book" and "Responsibility, Resources, Results." The former is a survey of the general community's physical and mental health that we believe would play well before any audience of medical epidemiologists; the latter, the Foundation's most recent annual report, relates the personal stories of grass roots community health leaders, all of which are inspiring.

It is, however, the "back of the book" material in the annual report that truly inspires. Under such headings as "MetroWest Youth Initiative," "MetroWest Elders Initiative," and "General Health Projects," one finds the stuff from which the Foundation is made of and of which lives are stitched back together and saved. Kids are being helped, the blind given aid and ethnic minorities in need lent a hand in the daunting process of adjusting to a new society.

Another section lists the names of the various individuals whose time, attention and self-evident love for the less fortunate in our community shines through in the Foundation's work. As a crew, they may not qualify for the steering committee of a free market institute or as promoters of a fundamentalist religious revival, but if you believe in non-sectarian, non-partisan health initiatives applied with an impartial, caring hand, these are your guys.

Rather than worry this bone of contention further, we will close on this note: Whatever forms the MetroWest Community Health Foundation maintains or is forced to assume in the future, it is already a 501(c)3 corporation, which tax mavens and knowledgable attorneys will tell you is as transparent and "public" as a "private," not-for-profit organization can get. Indeed, the distinction between a public versus private charity is ambiguous in the extreme and is in large part a function of circumstance, a condition spoken to at length by numerous senior members of the community to almost everyone's satisfaction—with one notable exception.

Messrs. Peloquin and McLean are tough, smart businessmen, as are the rest of the members of their board. But in the matter under discussion, they are showing the flexibility typical of the iron from which their stout spirits are forged. Time to loosen up, fellas.

Peter Golden meddles without reservation in the human condition from the Golden Group in Natick.

 
The Golden Group—
inspiring the imagination,
stirring the soul!

Copyright 2002, 2014 The Golden Group.
The Golden Group is a marketing, creative and Web services firm located in the Metrowest area of Greater Boston, Massachusetts.