Kiger's Notebook

And yet more on Mayo's #s: Layoffs? = 'Last resort'

Despite tough economic times and a fiscal year that ended in a break-even result, Mayo Clinic officials today said that layoffs are not on currently on the agenda.

Jeff Bolton, Mayo’s chief financial officer, describes layoffs as a “last resort.” 

The other core value for us – the needs of the patient comes first number one – but the needs of… the well-being of our employees is also central. It is our physicians, our scientists, our allied health staff, our nurses that really make a difference,” said Chief Administrative Officer Shirley Weis at a news conference this morning. “We are very committed to job security. We’ll do everything we possibly can to preserve jobs. Of course, we can’t guarantee anything.”

However, the clinic has “essentially”  frozen saleries for physicians and senior leadship for 2009, Weis said.

The year was tough, with costs that “significantly outpaced increases in revenue,” according to a Mayo statement. Costs grew by 7.6 percent while revenue increased by only 4.5 percent.

Mayo noted, however, that it fared “better than industry benchmarks.”

Health care economic expert Jeffrey C. Bauer, of ACS Healthcare Solutions in Chicago, said this week that break-even is a good result for the current economy and Mayo probably remains in the top 25 health-care institutions in the country in terms of financial health.

While the patient volume remained relatively flat for 2008, income from patient care plummeted by $88 million from 2007’s $293 million income to $205 million.

A major part of that loss due to not fully funded care for Medicare patients, said Bolton. That accounted for $605.1 million in lossesin 2008. And that number is growing as percentage of Medicare patients is growing.

Will Mayo change its policy on Medicare patients?

“No. At this point we are accepting all patients,” answered Weis. “The needs of thepatients come first.”

But the 2008 results put “significant pressure on funding for our research and education missions,” Bolton, said in a clinic statement.

The value of Mayo’s investment portfolio dropped 18 percent, or about $700 million. The clinic investment portfolio lost exactly as much during the last quarter of 2008 as it gained for the entire two-year period of 2006 through 2007, $693 million.

The Mayo pension fund remains $1.2 billion underfunded. Administrators say they expect to continue making “multi-million dollar payments in addition to its annual $210 million pension fund contribution.” 

Mayo has asked employees to help by working at the departmental level to cut costs and increase revenue.

“We have been preparing for financial challenges caused by rising costs, reduced reimbursement and demographic shifts resulting in more Medicare patients,” Weis said in the clinic statement. “The recent economic downturn has dramatically accelerated our need to act. Our efforts to reduce expenses and increase revenue are intended not only to help us weather the current storm but to provide a platform for transformation.”

Flood + business

Anyone know of businesses that were effected by the weekend flood?

I'd like to talk to businesses that were damaged as well as ones that have been swamped with business, like basement workers, roofers and whatnot.

The DM&E got in the devasted city of Stockton. Here's a pic from the DME Rail group on the bridge. We have our own coming in print.

500,000 thank yous

I just want to thank everyone that reads and comments on this blog. It would not be what it is without you.

On Thursday, the number of page views for this blog hit 500,000. It was at 400,000 at the end of May this year. Actually, at the end of May 2006, it was at 100,000.

Number don't really tell the story, but I use them as gauge to track interest.

And they seem to show that this experiment just keeps growing. It is your comments, feedback, tips and criticisms that is feeding that growth. Since this is a collaboration, please keep telling me what you are interested in and what bores you.

I started this thing in March 2004 without any clear goals or expectations. I did know, however, to be successful it had to be truly interactive. But you never know when you send out invitations to a party if anyone will actually show up.

Thanks for showing up.

Charter blocking Qwest #s?

Here's the story I was working on when I asked for Charter telephone customers for help earlier this week.

Basically, Qwest Corp. believes the telephone side of Charter Communications has been blocking its customers from calling Qwest. Charter says no way. A volunteer called me a few minutes after putting out my request. They called a Qwest at customer service number and got through. Qwest says Charter lifted the blocks on Rochester on Friday, but they are still mad.

Here's some from the story. I'll have more in print Thursday:

Is it a case of just crossed wires or a business putting up a roadblock to hurt its competitors?

Telecommunications giant Qwest Corp. believes the telephone service arm of Charter Communications in Minnesota blocked Qwest’s customer service numbers in Rochester and Duluth so Charter customers could not call to switch.

“Charter customers calling a Qwest toll free number are greeted with a message that informs them, ‘the toll free number you have dials is not accessible from this line,” wrote Qwest corporate counsel Jason Topp in a letter to Charter threatening legal action. It was dated April 13.

“Charter doesn’t block 800 numbers,” said Anita Lamont, a Charter spokeswoman in St. Louis. “This came out left field.”

The Topp letter says Qwest contacted Charter on March 29 about the issue after the company had checked out a report from a customer trying to switch to Qwest.

“…Charter confirmed the blocking was occurring,” Topp wrote in the letter.. Lamont denies that.
“We first heard of this alleged issue when we got a call late Friday (April 13). Then we got the letter. When we tried to get in touch with the sender, his voice message said he would be out of the office until Thursday (today),” she says.

Charter says complaints between companies typically go through account managers to be worked out, before attorneys become involved.

“That didn’t happen,” Lamont says. “It is highly unusual how the escalation went from point A right to point Z.”

While the Qwest numbers are available to Charter telephone customers, Charter is not satisfied. Joanna Hjelmeland of Qwest says Charter made the Rochester numbers accessible on Friday.

Kiger's ice cream eating duel

OK, I need some help (Yeah, I realize you all already know that. Heh) Anyway, I'm signed up for a ice cream eating competition at Hy-Vee South for later this month.

Dave Berg of 102.5 The Fox is another of the hapless media folks slated for this battle. Dave is under the mistaken belief that he can beat me in this. He has no idea what he is facing. I'm good with "scoops" and I "dish" the news. It will be no contest.

We are working on bet where the loser (Berg) has to be humiliated in public. Kind of like the Donald Trump/ Vince MacMahon deal.

So I'm looking for suggestions. Please keep it within in reason, but it should be a truly embarrasing spectacle.

Dave and I will consider the suggestions and then make the bet. And yes, no mater if I win or lose, look for photos on here. If you think the Jessica Irhke pic was bad, my guess is that this will top that by a few levels of humilation.

More on Floors and Beyond

Couple things on Floors and Beyond, the flooring business that abruptly closed in Rochester:

• As Lando pointed out, the entire comment thread on the Floors discussion was pulled this morning. Unfortunately, I was out of the office this morning when this happened. My bosses, of course, have the power to police comments.

The latest comment included some nasty name-calling. I love the free-wheeling nature of the discussions on here. However, I deem that kind of posting as unacceptable as does the management of the newspaper.

Now, if I had been here, I would have either just pulled that one comment or edited it. And like with the James and Cori comment, I would have just unpublished it. That means it still exists and could be posted again.

Unfortunately, my computer is somehow more powerful than our technical department's computers. No one else can seem to do that. And it is deemed "simpler" to delete all of the comments, not just the offensive one.

Sigh. That's the story behind this one. It seems I should not be out of the office in the mornings.

• Many have asked if any other customers are upset with Floors and Beyond. I got a note from a guy whose homeowners association paid a $1,500 deposit through a bill pay service on 3/12. It was cashed on 3/13. The store closed on march 9, according to owner Chad Tufty. The home owners association is looking into its legal options.

Toys for Tots casino night

Here's a nonprofit fundraiser that combines a lot things - toys, black tie attire, St. Patrick's Day, tots and gambling. What an interesting mix.

Here's the details:

On Satuyrday, March 17, the Toys for Tots Black Tie Casino Night is slated to start with dinner at 5 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. at Willow Creek Golf Club. The casino run by the entertaining folks at SERTOMA Club will open at 6:30 p.m.

Dancing will run from 7 p.m. to midnight. There's an auction at midnight.

Here's the ticket breakdow:
$ 100 per couple for 5 p.m. dinner
$ 125 per couple for 6:15 p.m. dinner
$50 for evbent tickets without dinner

Contact Mike Nassif at 358-2682 or at mnassif@entertainmettogo.biz to buy tickest for this worthy cause.

Veolia garbage billing woes

Veolia Environmental Services, the trash hauler formerly known as Onyx, had a billing snafu last week in Rochester.

It sounds like as many as 8,000 customers may have gotten an additional bill – not their own – tucked in with their regular bill. An editor I know (not me) found out that a copy of his bill went to Mickey's Irish Saloon. I'm sure there a joke there somewhere.

I'm doing a story about this mixup. Did this happen to anyone reading this or to anyone you know? Please contact me.

I have the official word on this, but I'd like to get a customer or two included in the story.

Gilligan's - Will it really sail?

Well, as I was hurrying out of the office to get to the BNI business card exchange (More on that soon), I got a call from Harland Morehart Jr. That's the guy who lined up the ex-Labor Bar's liquor licenses for a place called Gilligan's in the union's building on Fourth St. Southwest.

I had left him messages on his cell phone last week. However, he was on vacation and came home Monday to people telling him that he was in the newspaper.

Surprise! Welcome home. You didn't want to keep that quiet, did you?

Of course, making a formal request on the Rochester City Council was not a low-key action. Too bad I couldn't reach hiom last weekend.

I always tell reporters that everyone is available all the time with cell phones today. I say you should be able to reach anyone. They may not want to talk to you, but should be able to reach them. Maybe that is not always true. Hard to imagine I could be wrong. Heh.

Anyway, he says the deal with Gilligan's is not set in stone yet, though he'll know soon.

OK. And as soon as I know details, so will the folks who graciously read my stuff.

Elk Run and Mayo reaction

Wednesday's story about the Elk Run development in Pine Island was interesting.

The version of the Elk Run brochure I read last week (Thanks to a blog reader) strongly referenced Mayo Clinic. Then John Murphy of Mayo says Wednesday that "This development proposal is not associated with Mayo Clinic."

The earlier version of the brochure said this under the heading of Biobusiness Park:
* Bioscience/ Genome Research
• Developed in cooperation with the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota

Now the updated brochure says:
• Bioscience/ Genome Research
• To be developed in cooperation with local major medical center and the University of Minnesota

So what "major medical center" could that be? The video still says Mayo Clinic will be involved with the 1.7 million square feet of bio research.

I also find it interesting that readers commenting on the Elk Run story say it is sad that the land was sold just to make money and more habitat will be lost.

That elk herd just lived there? I thought that was a farm.