Councilman's Corner

SPRING IS HERE, FINALLY!!! With Spring comes a number of varieties of Ohio flowers most of them of the “orange barrel variety”.  On that note - construction will begin shortly on the Veteran’s Park at East 174th Street and Lakeshore Boulevard in preparation of the dedication of the park for June 12, 2016. Construction is also well underway on the new multimillion dollar community center at the Salvation Army at 17625 Grovewood Avenue. The construction on a new I-90 Pedestrian Bridge, which had been taken out by a truck three years ago, will begin this summer. Then there is the St Clair Avenue Corridor project for which we will be having the second round of community meetings coming up in April / May.   

The City Administration is working on resurfacing lists and we will know shortly about which streets will be slated for resurfacing. Eddy Road and East 152 Street are in the pipeline already; I will keep you informed as these projects move forward.

 However, the big announcement is by the Cleveland Clinic that they are proposing to move 45 beds of their in-patient rehab unit out of Euclid Hospital to a new Beachwood facility.  This should not come as a great shock in light of what Cleveland Clinic Leadership did to Huron Road Hospital in East Cleveland and are presently attempting to do at Lakewood Hospital. We are hearing that this proposed move could affect at least 60 employees, many of whom live in or near the City of Euclid or on the northeast side of the City of Cleveland. The bigger question is – what does this mean for the long term future of Euclid Hospital? 

The Clinic has embarked upon a process of closing old inner ring suburban hospitals in demographically changing communities with growing numbers of moderate to low income residents and quite frankly, racially and ethnically diverse communities. The proof is in the pudding. However, Euclid Hospital is not only critical to the City of Euclid but also the greater Collinwood and Glenville communities for we have many residents who are employed there not to speak of the medical services that impact a large number of our residents. 

I have officially called upon our Congresswoman, Marcia Fudge, to convene a meeting of community stakeholders, to discuss this critical issue and the future of Euclid Hospital.  I am hoping that Euclid City Officials also take a hard line and drill down into this proposal; for, the Clinic dropped this upon them out of the clear blue as well.

For my part, representing Cleveland’s 8th ward, I will continue to press Clinic and Federal officials as to what this really means for the long term stability of the hospital, for, I am greatly concerned.  The Clinic has purchased a large tract of land in the City of Mentor; so, what does this tell us? What is the long range strategy and future for Euclid Hospital?   

What the Clinic should do is make a major recommitment to Euclid Hospital and reinvest in their asset there to reposition this historic institution which has played a major role in so many of our lives.  Euclid Hospital is an outstanding institution and needs all of our support and prayers. 

I plan on staying on top of this, so stay tuned and most certainly feel free to voice your opinion as well.  As always, I may be reached at my office at (216) 664-4236 or via email at mpolensek@clevelandcitycouncil.org.

 Hope you and your family have a great SPRING!!  Look forward to seeing you at our spring meetings and events.

Michael D. Polensek