ARCHIVES

April/May 2008
January/February 2008
December 2007
October 2007
August 2007

Complete Archives >>

ROCK ON

I really enjoyed the Bodeans article [“Not Fadeaway,” May]. My friend and I have followed the band for many years. I learned some new information and the article was well-written. Thanks.

Brian Murray, Eldridge, Iowa

FINDING FETZER

I have been going back and forth to Milwaukee from Phoenix, Ariz., ever since we moved here permanently in 2003. My 93 year old mother passed away and we needed to take one of the last trips back for the service April 11. My sister-in-law gave me the current Milwaukee Magazine and it put a big smile on our faces when we had to take our flight back home to Arizona. Thank you so very much for recognizing (and hitting the nail on the head) Jim Fetzer's talents and his wonderful quirky demeanor [“Bittersweet,” April]. I've known Jim since the late ’70s, when we worked together at Ambrosia, and I've introduced his incredible product to friends far and wide. I have also had the privilege of meeting [his cats] Baby Doll and Ralphie, and he now has pictures of our cats, Eddie and Alex. We were wondering how long it took him to drop the F-bomb on you. What a guy! Thanks, again, for your wonderful piece. I only hope I can get at least two pounds back to Arizona without too much problem. It’ll be pretty hot here by then.

Sue Kamke, Surprise, Ariz.

TRUCE TIME?

I was disappointed to see you again bait the Shepherd Express and its publisher, Lou Fortis. First, Bruce Murphy challenged Fortis as a "kingmaker" in his blog, insinuating the Shepherd would endorse candidate Nik Kovac because Nik freelanced for Fortis. Instead the Shepherd endorsed Kovac's opponent, who won the primary after circulating thousands of copies of the endorsement. Your [March 2008] Pressroom column again attacked Fortis as a "kingmaker" with biting criticism from [Ald.] Mike D'Amato, ignoring the Shepherd’s opposition to both D’Amato and his handpicked successor, Sam Rowen. Subsequently, Fortis proved perhaps not a kingmaker, but a superior political prognosticator, as all his endorsements won their primaries and Rowen was badly defeated. Consider a truce with the Shepherd-Express. Milwaukee media criticism deserves better, and so do your subscribers who tire of this dispute.

Jeff Eagan, Bethesda, Maryland

Editor’s Note: The column did note that D’Amato had a falling out with Fortis and also offered the view of Ald. Bob Baumann as to the importance of a Shepherd Express endorsement. Readers are welcome to check the Dec. 4, 2007, Murphy’s Law column at milwaukeemagazine.com and decide whether it made any “insinuation” when reporting the Fortis/Kovac connection.

MEDICAL WONDER

Kudos to Julie Sensat Waldren for her incisive article on yet another of Milwaukee’s overlooked jewels – the Medical College of Wisconsin [“The Impossible Dream,” May].

The inspiring story of the Medical College’s amazing escape from the brink of extinction and its transformation into a world-class operation is a dramatic example of how talented and tenacious leaders can make dreams come true. In the process it provides some soothing and effective medicine for the acute economic distress looming over us and a potent antidote to Milwaukee’s chronic inferiority complex.

We all owe a large debt of gratitude and appreciation to the Mikes [President T. Michael Bolger and Dean Michael Dunn], whose talents, energy and hard work have paved the way to a brighter future for our community.

Frank J. Daily, Whitefish Bay

MEDICAL CHECKUP

“History is written by the winners.” This adage is proven by your May article on the successes of the Medical College of Wisconsin. The role that taxpayers played in preserving a medical educational asset in this community is hardly mentioned.

The taxpayers deserve better treatment. Their representatives – the Milwaukee County Board and County Executives John L. Doyne and William F. O’Donnell – all were dedicated to the idea that the citizens of southeastern Wisconsin would have better medical care if there were an up-to-date, modern medical center, which necessarily included a teaching component – the Medical College of Wisconsin. I have personal knowledge of only the years from 1960 through 1988, those years when the Medical College was saved primarily by the taxpayers and began to grow and flourish. The disparaging remarks about “the county” in your article certainly do not square with the dedication I observed in the actions of former County Executives Doyne and O’Donnell, and their memories deserve better treatment.

Milwaukee County was the primary provider of medical care for the indigent from the 1840s to the advent of Medicare and Medicaid beginning in 1965. The prejudicial treatment by the federal government of governmental hospitals contributed to the demise of County General Hospital. Physical health care was eventually privatized.

The infusion of large amounts of federal dollars into the medical care system provided the opportunity for private nonprofit hospitals to expand at an ever-increasing rate. Froedtert Hospital is a prime example of this phenomenon. Since the Medical College is a major beneficiary of these federal and state dollars, the taxpayers deserve accolades, not derision.

Taxpayers should be made aware of the history of medical education in this community so they can recognize their part in being heroes of the story.

Donald F. Weber, Whitefish Bay

ANOTHER MEDICAL CHECKUP

Your article, “The Impossible Dream” in the May 2008 issue of Milwaukee Magazine, attempts to describe events leading to the impressive growth and development of the Medical College of Wisconsin. Regrettably, the current and recent past leadership of the Medical College neglected to mention the central, leadership role and contribution of Milwaukee County government in the development of the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center, including the Medical College.

The spokespersons for the Medical College also neglected to note its partnership with the County Hospital and its contributions to the development of the Medical College, Froedtert Hospital and the Regional Medical Center. Rather they chose to demean it by spuriously implying that the County Hospital had been an impediment, a “poorly managed 800 pound gorilla”; portraying it as a “drag on the entire enterprise” rather than a key partner and supporter of the College during its recovery from near bankruptcy. Perhaps these comments will begin to set the record straight!

County Executive John L Doyne envisioned establishing a great medical center located on the County Grounds in Wauwatosa, building on the long relationship of the County’s public hospital with the Marquette University School of Medicine. He believed this major undertaking should represent a joint effort of County government and the private sector and that the Medical College would need to be the core institution. To advance the idea he formed a medical center steering committee in 1967 with representatives of industry, finance, labor, business, hospitals, etc. Rudolph Shoenecker, Executive Director of the Greater Milwaukee Committee (GMC) brought his organization into the process as well. At that time the College was in dire financial straights, for which the GMC leadership arranged temporary relief.

Moving this project forward required changes to State law to permit leasing land on the County Grounds to private entities, to permit admission to the County Hospital of all persons seeking care there (not just indigents), and to allow physicians to bill professional fees. At the behest of County and community leaders, the Legislature approved these changes in 1967. Mr. Doyne proposed 99-year leases for the private entities, with the first 50 years at $1.00/ year.

The Medical Center project was premised as a public /private partnership. As there was very little experience with such arrangements, it was not surprising that an understanding of the nature of the partnerships and obligations of the parties required considerable work and patience. In 1974 or ’75 a model agreement regarding land leases was reached with the Medical College and Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital. The College moved to its new facility in 1978 and Froedtert opened its doors in 1980.

Milwaukee County General Hospital (later named the Milwaukee County Medical Complex, and still later John L. Doyne Hospital and Clinics), served as the College’s principal adult teaching hospital for six decades and then shared that role with Froedtert for an additional 15 years. During the period of Medical Center planning and development, the County Hospital dramatically increased its funding for College faculty physicians and physician residents in training, along with clerical and other support staff, supplies and office space, requiring an investment by County Hospital of millions of dollars each year.

From 1968 until about 1993 the County Hospital developed and strengthened its clinical programs by adding medical staff, in partnership with the College, by acquiring state of the art equipment for cardiology, ophthalmology radiology, radiation therapy, surgical services, etc. In 1972 County Hospital signed an agreement with General Electric (GE) Medical to collaborate in the development of its advanced imaging systems, CT, MRI, Ultrasound, etc., assuring that the hospital would remain on the ”cutting edge” of these medical technologies. Over the years County Hospital initiated almost all of the highly specialized (“tertiary”) adult clinical services in southeastern Wisconsin. (The Burn Center at St. Mary’s and the Hyperbaric Chambers at St. Lukes are the notable exceptions.)

With the opening of Froedtert Hospital in 1980, County Hospital discontinued tertiary services that it had agreed to transfer to Froedtert including hospitalized patients, medical staff, nurses, clerks and service-specific equipment, thus providing Froedtert with a patient base Milwaukee County’s commitment from day one!

In 1993 the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors voted to begin the process of closing its hospital. Doyne Hospital shut its doors at the end of 1995, after 145 years of continuous operation. The drivers of this decision were:

1.) Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson struck sections of the State welfare statute requiring county governments to provide medical care “to those who would otherwise not have access to same” He also eliminated the provision requiring State reimbursement to Milwaukee County for medical and dental services provided eligible uninsured residents. These changes became effective in 1995. The impact of this action was a 35 to 40 million dollar increase in the property tax, or drastic curtailment of programs.

2.) The structure and financing of health care became market driven. Such a system is inimical to the operation of public hospitals and many closed in the early 1990’s

3.) The Dean of the Medical College advised the County Hospital administrator that the County Hospital had no place or role in the further development of the Medical College or the Medical Center.

With the closure of the County Hospital, its remaining programs were transferred to Froedtert Hospital, along with all equipment and facilities (including the emergency department, operating rooms, and intensive care unit, completed in 1988 at a cost of $20 million, and the new Ambulatory Care Center, completed in 1993 at a cost of $80 million). The transfer included County Hospital’s Level One Trauma Center, its lung, heart, and bone marrow transplant programs, etc. The adult clinical services available at the Froedtert Hospital resulting from these two program transfers had been developed at the County Hospital through its long partnership with the Medical College. These programs have advanced during the past 15 years as new knowledge and technology have emerged.

Milwaukee County’s history of service to people dependent on it for care is distinguished, as is its decades-old partnership with the Medical College to train physicians and develop highly specialized, sophisticated clinical service for the region and state. The commitment of Milwaukee County Government to continue to provide access for uninsured residents continues to be manifest through its appropriation each year of $15 to $20 million dollars to the General relief Medical Program which provides them with access to community based primary care clinics and to hospitals when necessary.

John R. Petersen, MD, FACP, Waukesha; Former Medical Director, John L. Doyne Hospital; Former Associate Dean of Clinical Services-MCW; Associate Professor of Medicine, Emeritus-MCW

AGE DISCREPANCY

Today we received our June 2008 issue of the Milwaukee Magazine and immediately recognized the picture of my uncle, Alvin Rindfleisch, along with the article about four centenarians. Uncle Al (Alvin) married my mother's sister, Evelyn, and thus the connection. I enjoyed reading the article (not often do I know the people or person being written about in a local magazine article), but I feel obligated to point out three glaring errors of content. To start with, my Uncle Al will be 105 years old on May 21, 2008. He's not 102. Secondly, Uncle Al and my Aunt Evie (Evelyn) were married August 14, 1926, not 1946. You mention that my cousin is 73 years old and that is correct. He and I were both born in 1934 and I just recently reached my 74th birthday. The third mistake is in the spelling of my Aunt Evelyn's maiden name. Her maiden was Kaap, not Cobb. Perhaps you have heard of the famous Kaap Restaurant and Candy Store, at one time a very popular and well-known establishment in downtown Green Bay. The Kaap spelling is the same and, as I understand it, there was a distant family relationship. Our Grandpa, Robert Kaap, emigrated from Pomerania in the 1882 as a young boy of five.

The article was fun to read as it brought back some stories I had heard a few times before. Unfortunately, it also mentioned some "old time" details that I can remember from my own background and I still have 26 years to go before becoming a "centenarian".

One last point of interest. For as far back as I can remember and I'm guessing all the back to my first birthday, I have never failed to receive a birthday card from Aunt Evie and Uncle Al. Now that Aunt Evie is gone (she died at age 95 in 1997), Uncle Al faithfully keeps up that wonderful tradition.

Norman McGarvie, son of Viola Kaap