Ulster County NOW Opposes Hospital Mergers

ULSTER CO. (06/15/2007)(readMedia)-- Nine years ago the Catholic Benedictine Hospital and the secular Kingston Hospital attempted to merge. The prospect of a secular hospital forced to operate under the Catholic Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs) caused the community to come together and prevent the merger.

Now, the hospitals are again at it, this time citing the Berger Commission threats to close one of the hospitals if some level of cooperative juncture can not be achieved. An over umbrella corporation is being developed under which the hospitals can operate. The Catholic hospital is insisting that all physicians accept the ERDs as part of the umbrella, although they currently claim that the ERDs will be in effect only whilst practicing in the Catholic hospital. We have studied the ERDs closely. Every time we question the current practice in the Catholic hospital we are told that the procedures (which seems counter to the ERDs) are practiced. The only ERD apparently honored is the refusal to terminate a pregnancy at any stage, under any circumstances. To get agreement for this ‘realignment’ we are being told that the only way the Catholic hospital will cooperate is if so-called surgical service is removed from the secular hospital to a ‘proximate location’ (read, separate building). Safe, legal termination of a pregnancy is thus being separated from all other medical practice.

Now that we know that the effects of the Commission directives are of concern in many locations we will be working to see whether other communities have experienced the commission’s apparent cherry picking of economic and demographic data. We have been told there will be enormous cost savings but have no information about how and how much. We are told that the ‘medical arms race’ is driving up costs but when we suggest hospitals divide the services and agree not to compete we are told this is illegal. Yet, the same two hospitals under their umbrella are allowed to be anti-competitive.

The Legislature chose to let the Berger Commission directives become law by default. We ask that the communities act for themselves and see if the directives need to be modified, challenged or refused on a community by community basis. We of Ulster County NOW, and Health Care STAT in Ulster County plan to promote such investigations and hope that our elected representatives help us where needed.

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