OH MetroHealth consultant pulls in $7M in no-bid jobs

Cleveland’s MetroHealth System has spent more than $7 million during the past 12 months with the consulting company that formerly employed its CEO and CFO. Booz & Co. faced no competition for the MetroHealth jobs. The contracts were not put up for bid. At a public audit committee meeting this week, MetroHealth System board members asked the hospital's internal auditors to review the process of how the taxpayer-supported hospital approves professional contracts for architects, engineers and consultants. In many cases there is no formal bidding process, said John Moss, one of the newest members of the hospital's board. Members approve contracts based on just “a couple of paragraphs or sentences. In the past 14 months, I’ve voted on millions of dollars in no-bid contracts,” said Moss. “This makes me very uncomfortable.” Booz, which isn’t ranked as a top health-care advisory firm by the consulting industry, was awarded a total of nine contracts for work that included finding ways to improve operations at MetroHealth's community health centers.