The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 5, 1995 - 3 .'U' establishes corporation to form health-care alliances By RONNIE GLASSBERG Daily Staff Reporter With health care delivery moving toward managed-care systems, the University has taken steps to keep pace by forming a health dare subsidiary corporation. "What you have before you, in my per- spective, is the platform for future change," said John Forsyth, executive director of the University Hospitals. "We think this new structure will allow us the flexibility to lead the country." The University Board of Regents unani- nously approved the move at its Dec. 15 meeting. The board will be the sole member of the Michigan Health Corp., a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. "Setting up the corporation is a legal de- vice that allows the University to enter into partnerships," said University President James J. Duderstadt. "The way health care is pro- vided is changing." The corporation will enable the Univer- sity to own an equity interest in managed-care plans and initiate joint ventures with other health care delivery systems. These actions would need to be approved by the regents, who also will appoint the board of directors and approve the annual operating and capital budgets of the subsidiary. In the proposal, Executive Vice President Farris W. Womack wrote, "Often, private sector organizations find it more difficult or intimidating to do business with large, non- profit institutions, particularly those that op- erate as a part of or on behalf of state govern- ment. A separate subsidiary corporation can help alleviate these concerns." The University Hospitals will provide an initial $75 million to start the corporation. Managed-care systems require fewer special- ists and more primary-care physicians than curent systems, and they place more demand on the use of community-based outpatient facilities. "The emergence of managed care is plac- ing an ever increasing number of restrictions on the ability of physicians statewide to refer to the University's Medical Center, thereby potentially affecting the patient population seen in the Medical Center," Womack wrote in the proposal. Through this statewide health care sys- tem, the University will be able to bring patients into Ann Arbor for health care. "It's a vehicle that will allow the Univer- sity to respond more quickly, more appropri- ately, more comprehensively to the changing marketplace for health care," Womack said. "It will allow the expansion of the primary- care provider network." The board of directors of the Michigan Health Corp. will be made up of Womack, Forsyth and Medical School Dean Giles Bole. "I believe this proposal is unique. It will allow us to move forward in a time of grave uncertainty," Bole said. While the regents fully supportedtthe mea- sure, many expressed caution. "In my judgment it's a proposition that's been soundly conceived. It has its risks, but it gives us avenues to abandon it," said Regent Deane Baker (R-Ann Arbor). "There are risks and opportuni- ties and I emphasize opportunities." Regent Rebecca McGowan (D-Ann Ar- bor) said some regents had recommended changes to the proposal before it was adopted. "Some were accepted, some were not. I intend to support the project, but I do not intend to give one inch on the full fiduciary responsibility of the regents," McGowan said. I" NAUGU RATIO 'V. Engler to steer state *throug renaissance By JONATHAN BERNDT Daily Staff Reporter LANSING - Pointing to the past and opti- mistic about the future, Gov. John Engler began his second term Monday with an inaugural ceremony on the east steps of the Capitol. "We have embarked on a Michigan renais- sance - a renaissance of ideas and initiatives, of opportunity and action," Engler told the crowd of about 1,000 people who gathered in 18-degree weather. "Michigan's renaissance is America's hope." Not everyone agreed, though. A single protester yelled, "What hope?" He soon trudged off into the swirling snow. Engler *stopped for a moment and then continued his speech. "Together, we have transformed Michi- gan from the broken buckle of America's Rust Belt to a bright beacon of hope for America's families," Engler said. Engler said he hoped the new Congress - under Republican control for the first time in 40 years - takes the same bold course he has and follow Michigan's lead. When he took over from Democrat James Blanchard, the state was facing a $1.8 million deficit. But after four years of cutting taxes and state government, unemployment hit a 21-year low in October and the state's rainy- day fund surplus is at $664 million. "We will seek to free the power and money that for too long has been held captive in Washington," Engler said. "Not to hoard them in Lansing, but to put your money back in *your pocket and to put you back in charge." Engler noted Detroit's recent success and congratulated Mayor Dennis Archer on being awarded one of the Clinton administration's $100 million empowerment zone grants. Engler concentrated his speech on con- tinuing his work from the first term. His three pet issues garnered him the most ap- plause. He pledged to keep the state's chil- dren - "born and unborn" - safe and provide them and their parents the opportu- nity to choose their school on the way to a "world-class education." But the biggest applause came for letting "taxpayers keep more of their hard-earned paychecks." "This vision is our challenge," Engler said. "I am confident we will succeed be- cause I have faith in you." Gov. John Engler is sworn in by state Supreme Court Judge Michael Cavenaugh on Monday, with Engler's wife Michelle looking on. AP PHOTO Supporters v By JONATHAN BERNDT Daily Staff Reporter LANSING --They came from all over the state -and around the world -to greet the governor on Inauguration Day. About 1,200 people went through the receiving line after Gov. John Engler's speech, short of earlier estimates. The staff closed the doors an hour ahead of schedule after the stream of people had slowed to a trickle and finally stopped. "We were able to move people through. We were actually pleased at how efficient it ran," said John Truscott, Engler's spokes- man. "It was a great day all the way around." . A family from Harrison Township gave Engler a small bracelet, presumably for his 7-week-old triplets. The furthest and most official visitor came from China, via Chicago. Ye Minlang, China's acting consul gen- eral in the Midwest, dropped by to say hello. "Right now, China has a very good relationship with Michigan," he said. Ye said he hoped to work for more cultural exchanges and increase business opportu- nities, especially in advanced technology. He added that the Big 3 automakers have already started to enter China's 1.2 billion-person market. Most people just wanted to shake the governor's hand. Celeste Hinderlight, one of the first people through the line, came from Berke- velcome another 4 years 'U' student claims bias in custody case By MICHELLE LEE THOMPSON Daily Staff Reporter After the latest courtroom squabble between her and Steve Smith, Jennifer Ireland wants a Macomb County Circuit Court judge taken off the case. However, Ireland did not convince Judge Raymond Cashen or his chief judge to disqualify him, and now Ireland and her attorney plan to appeal. Ireland and Smith grabbed national attention last sum- mer when Cashen granted custody of their 3-year-old daughter, Maranda, to Smith. Through Ireland's appeal, the Michigan Court of Appeals has allowed Maranda to stay with her mother, a University sophomore. Smith brought Ireland back to court last month to discuss Smith's visitation rights with their daughter dur- ing the holiday season. Cashen granted Smith visitation during the week of Ireland's finals, which did not agree with Smith's request for a two-week custody period, including Christmas and New Year's Day. In an interview before the hearing, Ireland said Smith never contacted her to ask for custody of Maranda. "He never asked me -- he just filed some order" she said. Moreover. Ireland says Cashen has no right to rule on the case, saying it is now in the hands of the higher appellate court. "He outstepped his jurisdiction," she said. Ireland's attorney, Julie Field of the University's Wo'men and the Law clinic, filed for Cashen's disqualifi- cation after the latest battle. Cashen refused to disqualify himself. Chief Judge Peter Maceroni of the Macomb County Circuit Court, who heard Field's arguments after Cashen did, upheld Cashen's decision. Sharon Lee-Edwards, Smith's attorney, said Cashen "hadn't done anything factually or legally to disqualify himself, and Chief Judge Maceroni agreed with that." Field said she plans to file an appeal urging Cashen's disqualification. Edwards argued against this decision. "You can't just disqualify a judge because you don't like his opinion. There has to be a reason." Field said Cashen should be removed from the case because he has made numerous comments to the media that show bias. "Judge Cashen has very strong feelings against Jennifer Ireland," Field said. Cashen has appeared on NBC's "Dateline" and has spoken to various newspapers, including The Washington Post. "In his written opinion, (Cashen is) saying I'm a fine moral person, but in these interviews he's changing his tune," Ireland said. Edwards said the appropriatenes of Cashen's interview depends on his responses, which she said were unbiased Cashen is the second judge to hear the case --Edwards herself asked for a female judge to disqualify herself earlier in the custody battle. After the first judge disquali- fied herself, Cashen took on the case. "She removed herself," Edwards said. "She clearly was so prejudiced that she had to take herself off the case." Ireland's appeal of this disqualification may further put off her custody appeal to keep Maranda permanently. ' ley, Mich., for the occasion. "It's been a wonderful time. It's beau- tiful," she said, admiring the $58 million restoration of the Capitol, completed two years ago. At Engler's first inauguration, the project forced the reception into the state museum and library complex, about a 10-minute walk from the Capitol. A student group from Hillman, near Alpena, brought 23 people to help pass out programs. Angela Lounsberry, a sopho- more at Hillman High School, said she enjoyed shaking Engler's hand, but said she felt like the group was being pushed along. The student group had received a grant from Engler last year to assist its work as Future Farmers of America. Brain Devilling, who attends Grand Valley State but hopes to transfer to the University next year, came by to talk to the governor again. The Troy native worked on John Pappageorge's unsuccessful run against U.S. Rep. Sander Levin (D-Southfield). "I told him, 'You're doing a good job. Keep it up the next four years,"' Devilling said. "School choice and taxes are the most important issues to me." TRIPLET WATCH: The Engler triplets, much to the disappointment of several well-wishers, made their only appearance of the day in a picture in the governor's office. "It was just too cold for them," Truscott said of the 18-degree weather with wind chills that hovered around zero and plenty of snow. STAFF SHIFTING: Engler will have to rebuild if he decides to make another run in 1998. Four of his top campaign officials are leaving to help former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander in his run for the presi- dency. Dan Pero, Engler's campaign director, will take the same position with Alexander's team. Pero's executive assis- tant, Jim Brandell; Finance Director Mar- garet Murphy; and spokesman Bryan Flood will also be heading to Nashville. Flood said these changes will not af- fect the governing staff. "These are all political people, not policy people," he said. One change that may hurt is the resig- nation of Patricia Woodworth, Engler's budget director, who took a similar posi- tion with New York's new governor, George Pataki. GUEss WHO'S COMING TO TOWN: Lt. Gov. Connie Binsfeld, who said she is feeling much better after a short stay in the hospital last week will be hosting a party this August. The national meeting of the Lieutenant Governors' Association will be held on Mackinac Island later this year. Engler will be hosting a similar get- together for the national governor's asso- ciation next year, also on the island, Binsfeld said. * RAPIST Continued from page 1 he passed the polygraph test, so Mitchell was released. That incident was attrib- uted to the serial rapist. A preliminary hearing is held to determine if a crime was committed and if the suspect in custody possible of committing it. Investigators are wait- ing for the results of DNA blood test being conducted at the Michigan State Police Crime Lab in East Lansing be- fore deciding if Mitchell should be considered a prime suspect. The serial rapist is linked to three of the rapes by DNA. Samples of Mitchell's blood and hair were taken by the police with the warrant. "We hope to get a preliminary re- port by this time next week," Scheel said. "We're hopeful obviously. Any- one that we happen to have in custody, we'd like to think is our man." Lynne Hilton, a Michigan State Po- lice Crime Lab expert, testified that blood samples from Mitchell, the vic- tim and a white glove recovered by the police from Mitchell's person at his arrest all match type A. Genetic mark- ers indicate that blood on the outside of the glove belonged to the woman. After giving a description of her assailant to the police, the woman was taken to University Hospitals because her lip was bleeding from the attack. Hilton determined only 4.3 percent of the Black population are capable of contributing the same combination of genetic markers found on the victim, based on statistics from the University's Department of Human Genetics. During the attack, the woman screamed for help, and the man fled. She made it to a nearby house with her purse from where the police were called. The description she gave of her at- tacker was aman about 5 feet 10 inches tall, about 180 pounds, wearing a black ski mask, blue parka, black sweatpants, tennis shoes and white gloves. The woman, however, was unsure of the man's race or age. Sheila Blakny, the court-appointed public defender for Mitchell, said she was worried about her client's right to a fair trial due to intense media scrutiny. Blakny tried to discredit the victim's accountby the victim's admittance that she drank two to three beers before the attack, possibly disorienting her. "If you had to count on eyewitness identification in every case, you would rarely make a case," Scheel said. "There are going to be other factors that would be introduced as evidence." The serial rapist is believed to have committed five rapes and seven at- tempted rapes since February 1992. One of the rape victims was killed during a May 7 attack on the city's west side. The last rape occurred on Oct. 13 next to Community High School. Mitchell's description was made public by the police after the attack. "It's pretty routine to do that in a lot of cases," Scheel said. "Normally the reason it's done is to check to see if they happened to pick up a fare that might match the description." The target of the highly publicized Join the Daily crew. Come to the Mass Meeting Thursday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. ONEMIUM PIZZA* IS YOURS FREE FROM MICIHGAN BOOK AND SUPPLY! Baal A A-*minimum purchase required we've got room just for you... v./3 Group Meetings 0 Bible Study and Fellowship, m7F, 1(. AA n TI ('r e mo Events Q "American Movement for Is- -a ,Ml l.l- n" lv 1. Am r.. U~ Campus Information Cen- ter, Michigan Union, 763- INFO; events info 76- T'I -T m h. - T' I I I