To the Editor:
It was amusing, but not surprising to me, when I read the MV Times article on the current fiscal state of the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Over the last three years I have tried to contact Tim Walsh and the members of the board to offer my services to perform an analysis of their telecommunications and energy spending and to create and implement an optimization plan. On average, my clients typically see a 35 to 60 percent reduction in their monthly recurring charges for telecommunications (voice, data network, and Internet) and energy (electricity & gas) after I restructure their environment and implement a plan for the prudent use of services. In fact, a hospital client had their telecommunications bill alone trimmed by 81 percent, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings over the last few years, as a result of my efforts.
All of this was communicated to every member of the board, including president and CEO Timothy Walsh as recently as April 2012 and two or three other times since 2009. As a seasonal resident, I also offered to donate a percentage of my fees back to the M.V. Hospital Building Fund, and I made this clear to every member of the board, including Tim Walsh. There is no cost to have the analysis performed, and the fees are paid completely from the savings, so no risk is involved.
Their response. Queue the crickets. Not even an acknowledgement of thanks but no thanks. In this economic climate, every opportunity to create a more efficient environment should be taken, but apparently the hospital board and its leader aren’t that interested in addressing an important matter like lowering operating costs, if they slide on such an innocuous offer.
Joseph J. Passafiume
Edgartown