The Blog Central

Of all the times in Lee Grief’s life, he probably looks on the years in which he served in Washington DC as being his most fascinating. It was during this time that he spent five years as chief of staff for Peter Peyser. Peyser was a republican congressman who represented the suburban county of Westchester in New York State. He had recently won the election against Daddario and chose Lee Greif as the perfect person to assist him in his new job. The duties that Lee Greif would undertake during this time working for Peyser were many and Grief always undertook them with confidence and success. His proudest achievement during this time was getting Peyser reelected twice by aiding him in his campaign.

Peter Peyser was an interesting and successful man himself. He was a longtime friend and political associate of Nelson Rockefeller for one thing. Peyser’s political ties to Rockefeller and other notorious politicians of the era won Greif some particularly special projects which he undertook with pride. These and the other projects he was assigned when working for Peyser were always challenging, but the prestige of his office and the respect he had for his superiors kept his eye always on the goal and he always accomplished his tasks with honor and within the bounds of satisfaction.

Serving under Peyser when he did meant that he was in office during the tumultuous times of the early 1970s during the Watergate scandal. This was an exciting time to serve however. One of the most fascinating events to occur when he served under Peyser was when the two of them and some fellow congressmen had dinner at the Whitehouse with President Richard Nixon. Also of interest were the many briefings he had with Secretaries Of State and Defense which were confidential and always enlightening.

Lee Greif worked for a democrat during the Vietnam War and for a Republican during the Watergate scandal so this meant he had to defend some pretty unpopular policies. Particularly the policies of President Nixon were always difficult to support, but he always did a very professional job. He was often at odds with his fellow politicians, but he did his best to convince them to support the policies of his colleagues.

During the five years that Lee Grief served as chief of staff for Peter Peyser, he met his first wife, Randee. She was working as a staff agent for the US senator Thomas Eagleton at the time. Soon after meeting Eagleton, they both became fans of one another and while Eagleton provided Greif with continued support throughout his career, he also provided his with a large source of inspiration and acted as his political mentor. Eagleton was a democrat from Missouri, but the difference in party did little to damper their friendship. Both Lee and his new wife found Eagleton to be a dedicated professional and a terrific guy whom they respected dearly. Lee learned a great deal from his experience in Washington and took away a lot of knowledge and expertise when he finally left politics to pursue other long time plans.

Mr. Grief is well known in the medical community of Kansas City, Missouri, due to his volunteer work. Grief volunteered countless hours as he served on the Board of Directors of the Menorah Medical Center for over 17 years. Menorah Medical Center was a 430 bed hospital that found itself in some trouble. Grief served as the Chairman of the board for Menorah Medical Center for two years, starting in 1992. When Mr. Grief was elected to the position, the hospital was running into some financial trouble. The hospital lost $10 million dollars during the five years leading up to the beginning of grief’s tenure as Chairman of the board.

Mr. Grief also served as the first chairman of the Jewish Heritage Foundation. Mr. Grief continues to serve on the board; the foundation has been incredibly successful, and in the last year, handed grants to around 100 local charities in the Kansas City Area. What really is astonishing about all of Mr. Grief’s volunteer work, however, is what he managed to do as chairman of the board.

Mr. Greif managed to attract a bid from a public company with deep pockets. Columbia hospital system. This prompted a bidding war broke out in the already competitive market in the Kansas City area.

. Both Health Midwest and St. Luke’s Health System offered bids that asked them to consider joining their own system. This was a bright spot for Mr. Grief and the board, as they were looking to be able to keep a Jewish heritage type of hospital in the area.

Many saw the bids by both Health Midwest and St. Luke’s as an attempt to keep Columbia out of the market in the Kansas City area. Eventually, Health Midwest won the deal. The 430 room hospital was to be merged and closed, and a new 200 bed hospital was to be built on another Menorah Campus.

Kansas City, Missouri was not necessarily known as a competitive market in the hospital and medical field. Once news broke out of the intentions of Menorah Medical Center, however, that all began to change. Menorah Medical Center was a 430 bed hospital that had found itself in a bit of a financial bind. In 1992, Mr. Grief was elected to serve as the Chairman of the Board in broad attempt to help, or sell, the hospital. In the five years previous to Mr. Grief’s service, the hospital had lost $10 million. This loss needed to be stopped; Mr. Grief, who has served on the Board of Directors for the Menorah Medical Center for 17 years, assumed the position in order to attempt to help the hospital.

The Menorah Medical Center was losing money at a rate of approximately $2 million a year. The hospital wanted to continue, as it was known in the community for being the Jewish hospital, for those who wanted a hospital in line with their faith.

Once the public and industry became aware of Menorah Medical Center’s willingness to seek a partner, the bids began to come in. The goal of the hospital was to approach other companies in the medical and hospital field to attempt to sell or merge the hospital. While they did go out and request some bids, there were some bids that came in from those companies who had not been contacted. Columbia, a known powerhouse in the medical field, lacking a stake in the Kansas City Market, was one of those companies. When Columbia made their unexpected and unprovoked bid, the bidding war began to take shape.

. Health Midwest, a company that already had a stake in the market, came in and captured the winning bid; while buying the hospital, they would merge with the Menorah Medical Center to open op a new Jewish center on the other Menorah Campus. This 200 bed hospital would be built as the old 430 bed hospital was slowly taken out of commission.

Through the sale of the Hospital, the Jewish Heritage Foundation was created. A portion of this money came from the sale, and Mr. Grief was the first chair men of the board. The board hands out grants to charities, and recently handed out over 100 grants to local charities in the last year. The foundation has been considered a success, helping the community in multiple ways. This was partially thanks to Mr. Grief’s volunteer work and his impressive work as Chairman of the board.