LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Kosair Charities has filed a lawsuit against Norton Healthcare accusing it of misspending donations and refusing to provide an account of how contributions to Kosair Children’s Hospital are spent.
Kosair Charities President Randy Coe says the organization has given $114 million in contributions to the Louisville children’s hospital over the years. The lawsuit accuses Norton of not spending all of the donations on the children’s hospital.
“We have an obligation to the kids and our donors to make sure the money is being used to help children,” Coe said. “We don’t want our money to go into the Norton pot.”
Norton spokesman Thomas Johnson told The Courier-Journal (https://cjky.it/1m5Vlrx) that he wouldn’t respond point-by-point to the “outlandish allegations” in the lawsuit, but denied that “money designated for Kosair Children’s Hospital was somehow spent for any other purpose or in any other Norton Healthcare facility.”
“It is preposterous for Kosair Charities to suggest they do not know where their contributions go or how they are used. In fact, Kosair Charities gets to designate specifically how a significant part of their dollars are spent using a menu of options we provide to them.
“The remainder is spent in accordance with the terms of the agreement,” he said.
The lawsuit asks for the return of any money found to have been used in violation of the agreement.
Coe said the suit was filed after settlement talks and mediation failed.
“Nobody is saying nurses and doctors at Kosair Children’s Hospital don’t do a great job,” he said. “But we want them to have the best equipment and technology possible.
“We are their largest donor, which makes this so perplexing,” he said.
Johnson said the method of distributing funds “has been consistent since day one” and the charity hasn’t complained until recently.
“The agreement is with Norton Healthcare, and Kosair Charities’ payments go to Norton Healthcare, designated to support Kosair Children’s Hospital and its mission. To suggest that Norton Healthcare somehow spirited their funds away from our children’s hospital, when they are fully aware their payments have always gone to Norton Healthcare according to the terms of the agreement, is offensive, insulting and misleading to the public,” he said.
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Information from: The Courier-Journal, https://www.courier-journal.com
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