Renewed discussion

Re “Time for a discussion about the future of EVMS” (Our Views, Dec. 3):

The editorial did not acknowledge sufficiently the detailed reasons expressed by Eastern Virginia Medical School for why the Manatt Health Strategies recommendation was unacceptable. The EVMS board and administration requested further deliberation of the involved parties in a transparent process, where concerns could be resolved, a fact not mentioned in the disrespectful editorial. For an agreement to be effective, all parties must have ownership of the product.

EVMS has succeeded magnificently in educating excellent physicians and other health care professionals for our area and far beyond, elevating the quality of care here dramatically. And thanks to our generous citizens, it has done so without equitable funding by the state or by the hospital systems, which have profited from the EVMS academic health care providers.

ReInvent Hampton Roads is led by highly principled, civic-minded leaders of the business community who seek to improve the lives of our residents in many areas. They recognize, as did the founders of EVMS, the necessity of a strong medical school to work with the hospitals and physicians in our community in order to create high quality primary- and tertiary-level referral medical care. One would hope they will facilitate a renewed discussion for the hospital systems, local universities and EVMS to establish the equitable sharing of expenses and expertise needed to make Hampton Roads a real center of medical education, health care and research excellence.

Dr. Edward L. Lilly, associate professor of Internal Medicine, EVMS Community Faculty, Norfolk