Under this arrangement, Kettering Health would convey the property to the city, the city would own the property, and contract with a third party to maintain the site and provide health care services.
Kettering Health Greene Memorial was last appraised at being worth $31.7 million, according to the Greene County Recorder’s Office.
Gentry met with the city after the letter was sent to him in June. Details of those talks were not released. In questions from the Dayton Daily News about what plans Kettering Health had for the hospital, the area’s largest health system employer released a statement.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
“Kettering Health remains committed to our mission of improving the quality of life of the people in the communities we serve – including Xenia and Greene County. Nothing we do now or in the future is more important than providing the community high-quality health care in fulfillment of this promise,” Kettering Health said.
The scathing letter comes after “a decade of inaction and unfulfilled promises” by the hospital network, cutting of services, and a continuous drain of resources and health care jobs from Xenia to other Kettering Health locations, including Soin Hospital in Beavercreek, the city wrote.
“Since Soin Hospital opened in 2012, (Kettering Health Greene Memorial) has seen a systematic decrease in staffing, reduction of services, and general decline in condition. Closure of the surgery center, removal of inpatient psych services, elimination of labor and delivery unit, and other reductions have left an empty shell of a facility,” the city wrote.
The city offered to promote marketing for Kettering Health’s property on Progress Drive for commercial development, as Xenia has fielded “substantial commercial interest” for the remaining undeveloped portion of the site, and has offered to facilitate Kettering Health’s divestment of Kettering Health’s Urgent Care site on Greene Way Boulevard.
Xenia leadership further said that word has circulated of major security breaches at the hospital, potentially caused by lack of security staff and faulty surveillance equipment. Kettering Health did not respond to questions from the Dayton Daily News about what those alleged security breaches were.
Kettering Health Greene Memorial was previously supported by two .5 mill levies. The first one expired in tax year 2021 and was last collected in calendar year 2022.
The second levy expired last year, and 2024 is the last year for collection on it. In 2024, the levy is expected to generate just under $2 million, according to the Greene County Auditor’s Office.
In a May meeting between the two parties, city officials were assured Kettering Health “is now, finally, working toward a decision” on whether or not to have a plan or a presence in Xenia, per the letter.
Kettering’s proposed plans would include closing Greene Memorial Hospital and constructing a new stand-alone emergency department in its place, but there was “no assurance” on where or when that facility would be, the letter said.
“We will communicate any plans for the future at the appropriate time as we continue to assess community needs and the realities of an evolving health care landscape,” Kettering Health said in its statement to the Dayton Daily News.
“As always, we will keep lines of communication open with local leaders and collaborate to understand their perspectives, concerns, and how we can best serve the community going forward,” the hospital said.
City leaders said Kettering Health’s plans would completely “lock out meaningful investments” from other health care providers.
“KHN’s plans, as suggested, would leave much of a fast-growing area with limited access to critical care and send a message that the wellbeing of our people is unimportant to Kettering Health Network,” the city wrote.
“Despite demonstrated growth in the community and a strong economic trajectory, the Network is taking a backward look resulting in plans to permanently restrict local healthcare services through an underwhelming stand-alone ED venture,” the city said.
Kettering Health had been part of long-term planning discussions surrounding Xenia’s NeXtPlan until late last year, when Kettering Health let go the staff member communicating with the city with no replacement, Merriman said.
“There’s a dearth of not just general services, but growing concerns about the distance and wait times to access a whole host of services, from orthopedic to cardiac, to a whole range of services that are not available locally,” Merriman said. “And for us to be a competitive community moving forward, we need more of those services locally.”
After receiving the letter, Gentry met with city leadership in July, but no formal commitments were made by either side, Merriman said.
“They have legal rights to those properties. It is their prerogative to do what they want. We’re just making the offer that if Kettering wants an opportunity to exit it’s service delivery in Xenia, we could facilitate backfilling those properties,” he said.
The letter from city leaders reference Kettering Health “absorbing an enormous financial loss” at Kettering Health Greene Memorial. The hospital’s IRS 990 filings from past years show mostly losses.
For 2018 and 2019, operating losses were reported at $2.6 million and $6.1 million. For 2020, the hospital reported to the IRS a total revenue of $42.7 million and total expenses of $47.4 million for an operating loss of $4.7 million.
For 2021, the hospital showed a change of pace, reporting a total revenue of $39.1 million and total expenses of $38.6 million for an operating gain of $532,487.
This news outlet has requested more recent IRS 990 filings and additional financial records.
Kettering Health acquired Greene Memorial Hospital in 2008. The property was donated on the condition that it be used for purposes as a hospital. Should those hospital functions cease, it would revert back to the original owner, according to city documents.
