Project Enoch DANGER!I know you can hear me.
Send Elohim Aliyam Or Not. I'll go down with the ship if I need to. Still undecided. I have a few hours to decide.
Copyright(c) American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved. Thursday, February 5, 2009, 12:32pm CST | Modified: Thursday, February 5, 2009, 1:05pm Vanderbilt endowment down 16.5% Nashville Business Journal - by Jeannie Naujeck Staff Writer Vanderbilt University lost $600 million, or 16.5 percent of the value of its endowment in the last six months of 2008, better than many of its peers and lower than earlier reports that pegged the losses at $1 billion, university officials say. The university, which is Davidson County's largest private employer, says its endowment balance stood at $2.9 billion as of Dec. 31, down from $3.5 billion on June 30. The endowment funds about 5 percent of the university's annual operations budget. The school's release of the numbers was its first official statement of performance for the first half of the university's fiscal year, which began July 1, 2008. Vanderbilt says its results were "significantly better" than the 22.9 percent decline in endowment market values reported by 435 respondents to a survey on endowment performance conducted by National Association of College and University Business Officers. Matthew Wright, the school's vice chancellor for investments, says Vanderbilt outperformed its peers because it began converting significant amounts of stocks into cash liquid securities starting in August 2008, before the subprime loan crisis started taking its toll on large financial institutions in the United States and around the world. "We were fortunate to defensively position the portfolio prior to the market decline," Wright says. About a week ago, Vanderbilt Chancellor Nick Zeppos acknowledged budget cuts tied to the losses in the school's endowment, telling the university community that some of its assets had been frozen and unavailable for the university to access to pay bills. Vanderbilt has enacted a hiring freeze, except for essential staff, frozen some salaries and asked departments to cut 5 percent from their budgets for the rest of the fiscal year, and another 3 percent to 5 percent next year. Some major construction projects have been put on hold for the next two years. However, the school said it still intended to honor grants and scholarships for all students in need rather than forcing them to take student loans, an initiative that was announced in October, just before a steep drop in the stock markets.
Ted Hampel February 5, 2009 4:46PM EST Losing "only" $600,000,000 is better than Vandy's peers. How wonderful! Since when is losing 17.1% of one's assets a win? Elyssa Durant February 6, 2009 4:34AM EST Oh no! Poor Vanderbilt :-( Whatever will they do with ONLY only $2.9 MILLION in reserves??? We all know how generous Vanderbilt has been with the comunity! They might just have to start acepting TennCare or maybe even the uninsured. That way they can just write it off as their own "bad debt." They can always build another parking garge, or harass sick patients who are 30 days past due. My heart bleeds just a little... but things for sure-- I will be seeking treatment elsewhere. I prefer to be treated in a hospital that places patient care above their ability to pay. Poor, poor, Vanderbilt. May you rest in peace. Elyssa - why don't you get your facts straight before you start badmouthing Vanderbilt. According to a NBJ article from November 2008: "In the past five years, uncompensated medical care at Nashville's 10 major hospitals has ballooned nearly 140 percent. The region's hospitals delivered $470 million worth of medical care last year that was not fully paid for, with Vanderbilt Medical Center carrying nearly half the load, according to the Tennessee Department of Health's annual hospital report. The report figures uncompensated care by combining charity care, medically indigent care and bad debt. Hospitals absorb these bills for the uninsured, patients who are unable or unwilling to pay and other medical services given free of charge." What's your problem with that? Elyssa Durant February 6, 2009 6:08PM EST Maybe the reason this city has seen such a rise in uncompensated care has more to with the fact that not only were 271,000 cut off of TennCare in 2005, but 150,000 more are about to go. Why not talk about that? Vanderbilt withdrew from the Safety Net contract just in time to avoid sharing the wealth. Nobody talks about that BIG PINK ELEPHANT in the middle of our city that bleeds us dry without providing adequate resources to bring us back to life.In addition to the 150,000 members of The Daniels Class, many more will lose their coverage as the economy continues to decline and the unemployment rate will rise. You will notice that while the unemployment rate continues to rise, the number of people receiving public health benefits has remained stable. What exactly do think is going to happen as more and more people begin to lose coverage and even those "willing" to pay, may just find them unable to do so when facing an economic crisis. No is bothering to speak about it the obvious fact, which is this: health care is a HUMAN right. So, with all do respect, I am sure I have my facts straight.I find it interesting that you while you speak of uncompensated care in Nashville, you fail to mention that the vast amount of "indigent" populations are treated Meharry, Faith Family, United Neighborhood Health Services, Matthew Walker and a alliance of faith based clinics throughout the city. Those "people" you speak of, who have the nerve to seek medical attention regardless if they have enough cash in their pocket to pay for treatment in full DO NOT go to Vanderbilt.I suggest you take a closer look at the data, and you will notice the vast majority of un/underinsured who seek emergency medical treatment DO NOT present at Vanderbilt. Even the ambulance will re-route them to another hospital, which last time I checked was a slight violation of federal law... EMTALA? I personally would choose Metro General over Vanderbilt any day of the week, where they actual treat people regardless of ability to pay. And one last thing, Vanderbilt does not even provide their graduate students with health insurance. Maybe they should be paying for that instead of another parking garage or libraries that the public at large may not even use. |
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