Defendant's Response to Supplemental Motion for Order Compelling Production of All Outstanding Answers to Interrogatories and Request for Documents

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IN THE 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA 

HAMMOND DIVISION 

BERNICE TERRY, et al., 

Plaintiffs 

VS. No. H 76-373 

METHODIST HOSPITAL OF GARY, INC., 

et al., 

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Defendants 

RICHARD GORDON HATCHER, et: al., 

Plaintiffs 

VS. No. H 77-154 

METHODIST HOSPITAL OF GARY, INC., 

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Defendants 

DEFENDANT, METHODIST HOSPITAL OF GARY, INC.'S RESPONSE 
TO PLAINTIFFS' SUPPLEMENTAL MOTION FOR AN ORDER COMPELLING 
PRODUCTION OF ALL OUTSTANDING ANSWERS TO INTERROGATORIES 

AND REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS BY METHODIST HOSPITAL 

  

  

  

  

Comes now defendant, Methodist Hospital of Gary, Inc., 

and in response to plaintiffs' motion states as follows: 

I. 

I (a.) Requested C.P.H.A. tapes have been forwarded 

to Mr. Martin Mador, computer analyst, at the direction 

Of Ms. Beth Lief, attorney for plaintiffs. H.I.8. tapes 

containing information requested in plaintiffs' Motion to 

Compel have also been forwarded. In addition, Methodist 

has voluntarily provided the I.H.A. inpatient discharge 

studies. Plaintiffs have received, pursuant to subpoena, 

a tape containing the inpatient discharge data for all Lake 

 



  

County Hospitals. The 1975 data will be provided on March 1, 

1978, per an agreement between the parties and I.H.A. 

I (b.-d.) The plaintiffs' First Set of Interrogatories 

did not ask in question numbers 68, 84, 89 and 91 for a 

"single consolidated format". The questions were answered 

in good faith and to the best of the hospital's ability. 

To now request the same information to be restated is simply 

duplicity and represents a clear attempt at harassment. 

Nevertheless, while the information requested has been 

supplied, the consolidated format is being addressed. With 

regard to inpatient data, the requested $nformation is contained 

on the C.P.H.A. tapes produced with the exception of zip 

code data. The zip code data is being tabulated on a "sample" 

basis (i.e. the months of April and October 1974-1977) per 

an agreement between Beth Lief and attorneys for the hospital. 

That data will list race, physician number, length of stay, 

sex and basic service unit thereby enabling correlation 

with the C.P.H.A. tape. This data has been attached hereto. 

With regard to emergency room and outpatient data as 

was noted in the defendants' answers to the plaintiffs! 

First Set of Interrogatories, no record is kept of the race 

of emergency room patients. In response to the H.E.W. "county 

wide" review, the hospital has compiled the information 

for October of 1977 for outpatient and emergency room patients. 

This information is being mailed to plaintiffs under separate 

cover. The hospital is also pulling medical records and 

tabulating the following information for the periods October, 

1975, April, 1975, and April, 1977, in that order per an 

agreement with Beth Lief: Patient, age, sex, marital status, 

date of visit, physician, zip code and expected source of 
  

payment. 

 



  

I (e.) The C.P.H.A. tape contains information re: 

expected method of payment for the year 1975, 1976 and 1977. 

The hospital is currently attempting to analyze, by sample, 

Blue Cross and Medicare-Medicaid payments to determine the 

accuracy of the expected mode of payment information. When 

that is done you will be so advised. However, payment records 

are not kept by race, sex, age and zip code as you were 

previously informed in Exhibit 68h to the defendants' Answers 

to Interrogatories. 

I (£.) [II-2 (a.)] The status of the "Considerations 

for Clinical Divisions of the Medical Staff" is currently 

in effect as constituted in the 1965 Manual. It was amended 

in 1966 to change the method of selecting the various heads 

of divisions, but was changed again in 1977 to reinstate 

the original selection method. 

Y (g.y {IT 2 (b.}) 

RN LPN AIDS Ws 

1970 136 120 129 27 

1971 152 128 121 31 

These are estimates and do not distinguish between full 

and part-time employees. Furthermore, they represent the 

total number of employees for the year and not staffing 

~on any one day. The nursing and personnel departments both 

explain that there is no reliable way to so distinguish 

between full and part-time employees. In addition, there 

are no records for the year 1965 from which an estimate 

which would be to any reliable degree accurate can be made. 

The more experienced employees estimate that the total number 

of nurses for the year 1965 would be somewhat smaller than 

the figure for 1970-1971 but the extent of the reduction 

is unknown. 

 



  

I (h.) The national origin of all nurses listed in 

Exhibits 43 and 44 is displayed thereon. If the foreign 

block is checked, refer to the training column which lists 

the country of national origin. While the "A" block is 

not checked for all nurses, if the nurse is foreign born 

the "PF" block is checked. 

| I {i.) 111 2 (c.)] As you were informed in the answer 

to interrogatory number 59, no records are kept of the time 

spent by each physician at the Gary or Broadway sites. 

Nor can the hospital make any reliable estimate of such 

time from any records in its possession. Plaintiffs are 

in a position to estimate such time based on the relative 

number of admissions by each doctor at each site. You have 

been provided a list of admissions at each site by physician 

as well as a list of each physician's name, specialty and 

training. 

I (j.) [II 3] The defendant has, on two occasions, 

produced the blueprint layouts and floorplans of poth hospitals 

for plaintiffs' inspection. On neither occasion were these 

plans reviewed. Defendant has attached as Exhibit 1 a reduced 

floor plan for the Broadway facility. 

I (:.) [IT 4] Exhibit 90 to the Answers to First 

Set of Interrogatories responds to this request, as was 

fotnted: out to plaintiffs. Defendant has attached another 

copy of said Exhibit to this response. In addition, see 

Exhibit 2 hereto. We are also enclosing a copy of Exhibit 

#89-90 to the original set of interrogatories. The "ambulatory 

care" and "outpatient clinic" facilities are one in the 

same. Furthermore, a number of details regarding the clinics 

can be found in the answers to interrogatory #68. In addition, 

we have enclosed a list of those services available exclusively 

 



  

at either the Gary or Broadway locations. 

IY. 

II (a.) Blue Cross of Indiana sponsors an extensive 

variety of plans and reimbursement for charges under each 

plan varies depending on the terms and conditions of that 

plan. Other commercial insurers reimburse on a similar 

basis. 

Medicare-Medicaid reimbursement is based on the lower 

of costs or charges. 

The information requested by Dr. Pollack plaintiffs 

expert on February 15, 1978, is currently being compiled. 

II (b.) This data is not currently available. However, 
  

the hospital is attempting to prepare such a schedule for 

your edification. However, the H.E.W. audit team currently 

examining Methodist's financial records is making such an 

analysis. The hospital cannot, however, in any way, vouch 

for the accuracy of H.E.W.'s analysis. 

II (c.) This information is not available in the hospital's 

files. The hospital is currently attempting to ascertain 

whether the hospital's architects or engineers have made 

such a study. However, since such an anlysis would not 

have been called for in any of the hospital's plans or the 

expense of formulating such a proposal justified, it is 

doubtful whether either the architects or engineers are 

in possession of such information. 

HODGES, DAVIS, GRUENBERG, COMPTON & SAYERS 
ATTORNEYS FOR aki ETHODIST 
Se OF Wik 

BY: [A aib/, AY Ly 
  

"EDWARD J. HOSSEY 

5525 Broadway 
Gary, Indiana 46410 

Ph. 981-2557 [||374f55ab-3e2e-4769-8f5a-12f6644e36ec||]