The foundation emerging from the sale of Summa Health won’t have a clear budget until the hospital system sale is finalized. Its first grants are more than a year away.
Still, at a public meeting last week, community leaders, including the heads of nonprofits, lined up to learn more about the new Trailhead Community Health Foundation — and to ask for help.
More than two dozen people, many armed with statistics touting their impact across the region, told three members of Trailhead’s working group about needs in a five-county area where the group will be making grants. About 100 people filled the auditorium of the Akron-Summit County Public Library’s downtown branch.
Housing, gardening, resources for battered women and for youth — their requests ran the gamut.
“You have a lot of tough decisions,” said Bill Leahy, the president of the Akron District of St. Vincent De Paul, as he asked the group to consider housing to be a healthcare issue. “You have a lot of homework to do.”
It could be more than a year before Trailhead makes grants
Social determinants of health, particularly housing, emerged as a recurring theme. Julia Rea Bianchi, the current chair of the Summa Foundation’s board of directors and a member of Trailhead’s working group, said she believed the initiatives were fair game for a foundation focused on improving community health.
Bianchi, who will also be a member of Trailhead’s board, said she was stunned by how many organizations were prepared to pitch their programs. She and Al Loomis, a former Summa Foundation board chair and member of the working group, said they expected the public to have more questions about the foundation — many of which they can’t yet answer.
Ohio Attorney General David Yost is requiring Summa to invest $15 million in equity into Trailhead. The foundation will also receive leftover funds from Health Assurance Transformation Co.’s purchase of Summa, once the hospital system’s debts are paid off, so the foundation’s total value won’t be known until Summa’s sale is complete.
While the Summa Foundation supports the hospital’s activities, Trailhead will be prohibited from making direct payments to Summa. That means the new foundation will represent a new pot of money for nonprofits to access for grants.
“I think this is a win-win,” said Loomis, who will serve on Trailhead’s board. “I think Trailhead will have a significant impact on the area.”
Trailhead’s reach will span five counties — Summit, Medina, Portage, Stark and Wayne — through grantmaking and partnerships. Bianchi said she expects more information about the foundation to be available later this year. The Summa sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
“The minute this translation closes,” she said, “we go live.”
That doesn’t mean the money will immediately start to flow. The 11-member board will need to determine its priorities and bylaws; it could be 18 months before the first grants are made.
Choose the ‘most impactful services’ in Akron and beyond
Elaine Russell, the president and CEO of CommQuest Services in Canton, said she hoped the board would choose to give to the “most impactful services.”
“Our communities really need you,” she said. “A tough business is getting tougher.”
Avery Duff, a representative of Let’s Grow Akron, promoted the healing power of gardening, while the president of Stark State College, Para Jones, asked Trailhead leaders to consider the college a partner. Matt Long, the director of major gifts for Akron Children’s Hospital, told the crowd that philanthropy had never been more vital, while Teresa M. Stafford-Wright, the CEO pf Hope and Healing, reminded them that sexual violence is a community health issue.
And then there was housing. Herman Hill, the executive director of the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority, said maintaining a safe, affordable place to live is key to ensuring people are healthy, a sentiment that was echoed again and again.
“When people lack safe, stable housing, health suffers,” he said.
Arianna Barrett, a single mother of four who moved 10 times before the age of 18, said the single differentiator for her now was the stability of her housing in ensuring her quality of life and that of her children.
“We heard repeating narratives,” Bianchi said. “The social determinants of health will be addressed.”
Who will sit on Trailhead’s board?
Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro said after Wednesday’s public hearing that she was optimistic about the foundation’s future work. Board members, she said, “get the big picture.”
“They have a lot of work ahead of them,” Shapiro said. “There are very thoughtful people on that board.”
The full board will include:
- Julia Rea Bianchi, marketing consultant and chief operating officer at Blue Chip Kids
- Steven Cox, attorney and shareholder at Roetzel & Andress
- Brenda Cummins, director of philanthropic services at the Cleveland Foundation
- Lashawrida L. Fellows, deputy director of human resources at the City of Akron
- Naomi D. Ganoe, managing director and private client services practice leader at CBIZ
- Mary Jo Goss, retired registered nurse at Summa Health
- Marty Hauser, retired president and chief executive officer of SummaCare
- Wakita Johnson, regional vice president and Ohio Medicaid chief operations officer at Humana
- Allen E. Loomis, retired executive vice president at National City Bank
- Steven P. Schmidt, professor of Graduate Studies and retired vice president for research and dean of the College of Graduate Studies at Northeast Ohio Medical University
- Demond Scott, medical director at Axess Family Services, Inc.
Jeff Barge, a frequent critic of the sale, said in an email he was concerned that there was not a patient representative on the board. Bianchi and Loomis said the retired medical professionals would provide that perspective.
“It’s going to be strong,” said Ramona Hood, the governance chair of Summa Health’s Board of Directors. She’s also a member of the Trailhead working group.
Hood, who helped select the board members, said there were more than two dozen people nominated. After the public hearing, she said it was clear from the comments that the area is resource-rich and that it’s a community that cares and wants to collaborate.
HATCo CEO, Marc Harrison, is out of role
In addition to more details about Trailhead becoming available, the CEO of the company buying Summa — Marc Harrison — has left that role to become a strategic advisor for HATCo’s parent company, General Catalyst.
In a statement, Cliff Deveny, the Summa Health president and CEO, said Harrison had been an “invaluable partner and champion” of the sale and would continue to play an active role in it.
The leadership change “does not reflect a change in direction, but a deepening of the strategy and commitment to Summa Health,” Deveny said.
A statement from General Catalyst said the change in Harrison’s involvement allows him to provide a clinical point of view on industry trends.
Daryl Tol, the former president and CEO of AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division, is the new president of HATCo. He’s leading integration efforts in Akron. Kate Walsh, the former Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services and former president and CEO of Boston Medical Center Health System, will be the chair of Summa Health’s board once the transaction closes. Walsh will also serve on HATCo’s board.
J.B. Silvers, an emeritus professor of finance at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, said key leaders in this kind of transaction are critical. Silvers said he is a fan of Harrison but doesn’t have concern about the leadership change because the sale has already received the approvals it needs.
“The fact that they’re through the hoops probably means that it’s going to be OK,” said Silvers, who has been following the sale. “He got them to the altar.”