Forum Health's CEO says the easy solution to the system's contract issues would have been to request court intervention months ago, saying, "Nobody wanted to go to a third party to resolve this."
In a release issued Thursday night, Pishkur says Forum's board was filing for relief from its labor agreements even though nurses at Northside had just approved a new tentative agreement containing almost $4.5 million in concessions. Pishkur tells us money wasn't the issue, saying Forum needed concessions to stay in place longer, before wages and benefits reverted back to current levels. He says, "We didn't think it gave us enough time," to show potential lenders the system could be profitable into the future.
Pishkur claims Forum's bottom line is improving, telling us the system has shown a $6-million profit so far this year.
So why then are creditors wanting to keep Forum from having more time to exclusively file its own reorganization plans? In a filing this week, a group of creditors complained Forum hasn't shown enough progress in its bankruptcy, that admissions are down and that the system will break even at best. Pishkur admits administrators may have "done a poor job communicating," Forum's progress, adding, "So I'm gonna take responsibility and say maybe they really didn't have the information."
Pishkur says Forum now holds once-a-week conference calls with lenders to make sure everyone is on the same page, insisting Forum will have its reorganization plans in place on time in mid-September.
While Pishkur tells us he's confident Forum and its nurses can hammer-out an agreement without having to go to court, he's not as optimistic concerning the Service Employees Union, admitting talks with those workers are still far apart.
He's hoping some intervention through the courts will keep the bargaining process moving and Forum's reorganization on track.
