State Hearings into Grady Giveaways now urgent
By Ron Marshall
Just when we thought things couldn't get worse in the Grady fiasco, Channel Two's Richard Belcher broke the news that I have been saying for years on March 7, 2008. A no-bid contract for more than one quarter of a Billion dollars was awarded to a close contact of Grady Trustee Clayton Sheppard. Why is it taking so long for everyone to see what’s happening here! The picture is very clear. Grady will be moved from its location to rid the city of its poor.
The one quarter of a billion giveaway: $ 250,000,000.00 dollars.
How can Grady afford any no-bid giveaways while it is going broke? This is not the first time this has happened. Only state hearings can shine a light onto what is happening.
Georgia Legislature must hold hearings before a single additional bill is passed, or new deal is made, or a single new preposterous claim is made claiming that a mysterious unknown donor is going to bail Grady out. The business captains are making it clear. They are expecting massive contracts and other giveaways in return. Or, at least it appears that conflict of interest is ruling this entire process. Being stupid will kill more people than greed.
Other giveaway no-bid crooked deals at Grady are legendary. Former Georgia State Majority leader Charles Walker had extorted millions of no-bid contracts. Georgia politicians including Larry Walker received no-bid contracts. Grady's biggest open-ended no bid contract to Emory University for more than $50 Million a year. Rumor has it that Pamela S. husband has receive 100ks of contracts from Grady. The pond is shrinking and there’s only enough room for the big fish.
Despite this incredible amount of money paid to Emory, the JCAHO and other federal investigators have found Emory's care at Grady is so sub-standards, JCAHO is considering pulling Grady's accreditation. If JCAHO does this, all other discussions are moot. That would be the end of Grady. After six months, still no one has said a word about these missing reports. The Grady site is again starting to look like a sixty story plus twin tower complex. The picture is very clear to me on where the finish line will be.
Grady Stonewalls on its Giveaways
The New Grady coalition has submitted more than 50 open records requests since 2004 and just recently again requesting reports to now-Grady CEO Pam Stephenson asking for the internal report Grady conducted on its no-bid contracts to all-connected entities, including Emory. Grady has failed to respond to a single Open Records request. Why? Well it seems we now know the answer. Grady Chief Counsel Tim Jefferson has led the stonewalling, and actually responded with threats.
Why hasn’t Grady released audits of its pension fund? Has the pension fund been raided as part of the giveaway program?
The people of Georgia deserve hearings to expose why the management at Grady, routinely violate the open records laws. No one, not even Stephenson and Jefferson, are above the law. Immediate release of all records is demanded!
Tom Bell: The Ultimate Giveaway to Crawford Long?
Incredibly, Grady suggests that Tom Bell, chairman of the board and CEO of Cousins Properties, should serve as a board member. According to their company's web site Cousins-owns 50 percent of the Emory Crawford Long Medical Office Tower . Can you here me now?
Bell has a huge financial interest in seeing that paying patients from Grady are continued to be siphoned off to his own facility Crawford Long. This would be like putting a Japanese auto CEO on the board of General Motors.
Is Bell planning to hollow out Grady from the inside? Certainly, Crawford Long has made no secret of its business plan to siphon any paying patient from downtown Atlanta . Then Bell turns around and criticizes Grady for not have paying patients! We need to have state hearing just on Bell 's conflicts of interest alone.
Pete Correll: Giveaways to Emory?
But wait. Business leaders also claim the only person who could lead Grady is Pete Correll. Pete Correll serves on the Medical Advisory Board of Emory's medical school, Grady's largest contractor. No man can serve two masters. Grady needs a leader committed to Grady only.
Emory's medical students: The future of Georgia
I commend the hundreds of medical students who have turned out to support the future of Grady. I'm sure these courageous medical students don't support giveaways of the precious resources of Grady to politically-connected business lords. Grady is too precious. The future of Grady and the future of our doctor-students are on the line. Students don’t believe what’s being told to you. That's why I'm glad that dozens of student doctors are joining the New Grady Coalition daily.
AJC & other media: Time to expose giveaways
For more than a year, the AJC and other media have claimed that privatizing Grady would lead to a donation of $300 million dollars. Now, we know that there is no money on the table. The AJC and other media networks must retract its hundreds of false statements, and explain why it has published and broadcasted unsupported claims that have led to passage of laws based on the media’s false promises. Are they getting no-bid contract as well?
The media needs to reveal the full extent of its own conflicts of interest, and allow its own investigative journalists to investigate their editorial boards.
Ending Retaliation against Grady employees
There is no way the public can have an honest dialog when Grady employees are threatened by Grady and prevented from telling the truth. I've published dozens of examples of Grady employees, including Grady's own former Senior Vice President, Joyce Harris, who tried to warn the public, but was brutally retaliated against.
More than 50 other Grady employees have contacted me and want to tell the truth about Grady Giveaways, but tell me of extreme threats made against them. To stop the giveaways, we must protect the truth, and protect the truth-tellers. Grady refuses to tell us the truth.
State Hearings are now the only way
It seems they are all determined to stop the public from finding out about Grady giveaways and other conflicts. No one can get to the bottom of this except the state legislature or a federal investigation.
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