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Editorial
Believe it: This hospital plan makes sense
Governor Eliot Spitzer and his health commissioner Dr. Richard Daines finally saw the light last week when the New York State Department of Health announced that St. Joseph Hospital will remain open as a satellite of Sisters of Charity Hospital. Months of negotiations between the Catholic Health System and the state has resulted in a rational plan that meets the mandates handed down to the Berger Commission, which, for whatever reason, appeared to ignore logic and the guidelines set forth by the state when it set about its business in 2006.
The Berger Commission was expected to examine health care needs in the 21st century and make recommendations based on those needs. The commission was expected to eliminate surplus hospital beds and close or merge financially struggling or aging hospitals and other health facilities to stem spiraling Medicaid costs. Instead, the commission irrationally recommended closing the profitable St. Joseph Hospital, with its 208 beds, few Medicaid-reliant patients and new state-of-the-art emergency department.
Shutting down the hospital would have cost an astronomical $79 million and dispersed 27,000 patients to other emergency departments already straining from the burden of treating Western New Yorkers for a variety of health issues.
Backed by their own diligence and foresight, the Catholic Health System and Hospital launched the "We Believe" campaign that garnered more than 50,000 signatures on petitions urging that the hospital stay open. These petitions and thousands of letters were delivered to Governor Spitzer. The campaign worked.
Months of negotiations between the CHS and state resulted in a rational plan that the Berger Commission should have suggested from the start. Instead of closing a profitable 208-bed facility with a $10 million emergency department that annually treats 27,000 patients, the negotiations ensure St. Joseph Hospital will remain open with essentially the same number of "active" beds- 125- as part of an affiliated hospital. Sisters of Charity Hospital will "sponsor" St. Joe's by transferring some of its licensed beds to the Harlem Road site.
In addition, St. Joe's will add geriatric services to assist the increasing number of senior citizens who live near the Harlem Road facility. Why didn't the Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century (the Berger Commission's real name) think of that when it examined Western New York? Again, it appears that logic was not used by Berger Commission members.
Last week's agreement ensures St. Joseph Hospital will remain open through 2011 when the health department completes its analysis of emergency services in the area. Catholic Health System officials are confident that the agreement is permanent.
We agree. The CHS and the entire St. Joseph Hospital community rallied to do what the Berger Commission could not: ensure responsible health care for area residents in the 21st century.
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