Floyd County Medical Center cancer clinic bequest trial to begin this week

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A trial is scheduled to begin this week to decide whether the Floyd County Medical Center will get nearly $10 million to be used to create a cancer treatment center at the county hospital.

The money was left in the will of Nashua-area farmer Herman C. Stille, who died Sept. 1, 2020. The gross value of the estate was almost $11 million, including farmland that was sold by the estate for $7.315 million.

In his will, Stille made several smaller bequests to persons and a charity, but the bulk of his estate was given to the Floyd County Medical Center, “for the purpose of establishing a cancer center to serve local area residents if the funds available make such establishment possible.”

But there was one other stipulation in the will that has resulted in an intense legal battle between the Floyd County Medical Center (FCMC) and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota — a battle that is scheduled to begin being settled in Chickasaw County District Court on Wednesday.

One clause of Stille’s will said that the gift to the FCMC “is contingent on the Floyd County Memorial Hospital being maintained as an independent hospital.”

The paragraph continued, “If the Floyd County Memorial Hospital loses its independent status and becomes part of a major healthcare corporation, I give, devise, and bequeath all the rest, residue, and remainder of my property to Mayo Foundation, a Minnesota charitable corporation, Rochester, Minnesota, to be used for Alzheimer’s disease research.”

In March 2022, the executor for the estate, Ted Lovrien, of Clarksville, filed a petition with Chickasaw County District Court, saying that attorneys from FCMC and the Mayo Clinic did not agree on how to interpret the will, and Lovrien asked the court to hold a hearing and approve of distributing the assets of the estate to either the medical center in Charles City or the clinic in Rochester.

Chief District Court Judge Kellyann Lekar ordered a non-jury trial be held in February this year, but later rescheduled that date to Wednesday, Sept. 20.

Mayo’s argument is that the FCMC cannot meet the terms set forth in Stille’s will regarding the proposed cancer treatment center, so Mayo should get the money.

That part of the will states, “The treatment center must have an oncologist on staff, and must be adequate to include office space for oncologists, consultation rooms for patients, separate areas for administering radiation, chemotherapy and other cancer treatments, as well as a family gathering area.”

Mayo states in a summary of its position filed in District Court, “If FCMC is unable to satisfy the requisite components of a cancer center using Mr. Stille’s putative gift, Mr. Stille intended, and the Will provides, that the gift to FCMC lapses and instead goes to Mayo Clinic ‘to be used for Alzheimer’s disease research.’”

Mayo maintains that the medical center will not have a full-time oncologist on staff and will not be able to deliver radiation treatments, and therefore does not meet the requirements of the will.

But FCMC argues that Stille’s intent was that a cancer treatment center be established. The medical center proposes to contract with an oncologist from Mason City Oncology Practice Group or another oncology practice group to provide “Board Certified Oncologists and Specialized Oncology Nurse Practitioners who will administer care to cancer patients at the Stille Cancer Center.”

FCMC says that these physicians “would be fully credentialed and on-staff at FCMC to provide cancer-related services.”

“This type of arrangement for rural hospitals is standard for specialists, including those in Oncology, Cardiology, and Orthopedics just as a few examples,” the medical center states in a court document.

Regarding the administering of radiation treatment, FCMC argues that it would be nearly impossible to get the required “certificate of need” from the State Health Facilities Council to purchase, install and operate a linear accelerator that would be necessary to administer radiation, because there are already four such accelerators within a 50-mile radius of Charles City – two in Mason City and two in Waterloo.

“In the unlikely event FCMC were approved for a linear accelerator, the costs associated with purchasing and operating the linear accelerator would be unsustainable for the hospital,” FCMC argues. “The capital expenditures required for these items and the related costs would exceed $5,000,000 at a minimum, plus ongoing software and hardware maintenance costs of $1,000,000+ per year.”

The FCMC documents say that provisions are being made to provide transportation for Stille Cancer Center patients to radiation treatment centers in the area, and notes that not all cancer patients receive radiation treatments.

FCMC argues that Stille, had he known that some of his requests were nearly impossible, would not have included them, because his intent was clearly that a cancer center be established.

But most important, FCMC argues, even if the court determines that FCMC cannot meet the exact specifications of Stille’s bequest, the money would still not go to Mayo.

“Mayo is only to receive the residue of the Estate ‘if the Floyd County Memorial Hospital loses its independent status and becomes part of a major healthcare corporation,’” FCMC quotes from the will.

“By this express language, the one and only scenario in which Mayo receives anything from the Estate is if FCMC is not an independent hospital and joins a healthcare corporation,” FCMC continues. “Indubitably, FCMC is – and intends to remain – an independent medical facility.”

As part of its court filings, FCMC has introduced several versions of what could be the Stille Cancer Center. The latest filings show how a cancer center could be part of the new $26 million Floyd County Medical Center Clinic relocation and hospital remodeling and expansion project expected to begin construction next spring.

It notes recent improvements to FCMC’s imaging services with the addition of new CT and wide-bore MRI machine, and the initiation of renovations to the laboratory in conjunction with the expansion project.

“Additionally, FCMC’s proposal provides for a renovation of the pharmacy based on the addition of chemotherapy treatment,” it says.

The documents also note that “FCMC employees a high-quality, board-certified surgeon who is competent in performing many cancer-related procedures that will benefit patients of the Stille Cancer Center. She has expressed a willingness to expand her practice and receive additional training to serve cancer patients.

“Additionally, FCMC is committed to providing positions, such as a patient coordinator, chemotherapy-certified nurses, pharmacists, and chemotherapy-trained pharmacy technicians to ensure cancer patients receive exceptional care close to home.

Over the last several months both side have been taking depositions and filing documents with the court. Mayo and FCMC have entered lists of almost 600 exhibits they could introduce as evidence, and both sides have long lists of potential witnesses.

District Court Judge Richard Stochl has scheduled a hearing to be held Tuesday morning in Chickasaw County District Court in New Hampton, to rule on several motions before the court, with the trial set to begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

The trial is scheduled to take five days. Since it is not a jury trial, it is likely the judge could take a considerable length of time to receive final briefs from both sides then issue a ruling.