Letter: UMC didn’t cut foundation ties

Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005 | 9:06 a.m.

Thank you for your interest in University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, as evidenced by your Feb. 2 editorial. However, I must clarify some of its erroneous assumptions.

But first, please let me express my heartfelt thanks to the members of the UMC Foundation for supporting our Pediatrics Department over the years. The Children's Miracle Network also deserves kudos for their fund-raising assistance.

As you noted, UMC and the foundation have disagreed about how to expand the hospital's fund-raising activities. But let's be clear: UMC did not sever its relationship with the UMC Foundation. And it certainly did not bypass it to contract directly with the Children's Miracle Network.

UMC only contacted the CMN about a direct relationship when the foundation did not renew its annual agreement with the CMN. Per correspondence I received from the CMN, they understood, as your editorial pointed out, that the foundation was dissolving.

We met with executives from CMN and were led to believe that they were interested in maintaining a relationship with UMC. They subsequently opted, however, to initiate a relationship with another hospital.

We sincerely appreciate the efforts of the UMC Foundation and remain ready to sit with its leadership, as well as the CMN, to resolve differences and work toward our common goal of improving health care in Southern Nevada.

LACY L. THOMAS

Editor's note: The writer is chief executive officer of University Medical Center.