Western Kentucky Orthopaedic and Neurological Associates, which is under the Graves-Gilbert Clinic umbrella, filed a protest against Western Kentucky University and partnering The Medical Center over a new sports medicine complex, according to a report from the Bowling Green Daily News.
Here are five things to know:
1. Western Kentucky University and The Medical Center partnered to build a new sports medicine complex. WKONA filed the protest, alleging the deal, which is worth $22 million and for 99 years, was “consummated behind closed doors without using legally-required open competitive processes.”
2. Frost Brown Todd law firm attorney Jonathan Miller filed the protest on behalf of WKONA. The protest asserts that competition for the project “could have produced a deal that improved healthcare opportunities and brought more dollars for WKU programs.”
3. While WKONA was involved in informal talks about the sports medicine complex, the practice says it wasn’t involved in the “meaningful details” of the project proposal, which the protest claims is against the Kentucky procurement statutes and regulations on open and transparent processes.
4. The Bowling Green Daily News reports WKU presented The Medical Center with multiple contracts including:
· Official orthopedic and healthcare provider status for WKU
· The ability to operate Graves-Gilbert Clinics on campus
· Preferred insurance provider status that included reduced co-payments
· Exclusive provider for WKU sports
5. The protest requests Kentucky’s Finance and Administrative Cabinet block the deal.
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