by RANDALL CLARK
Today's Sunbeam
Thursday, August 20, 2009
SALEM - In a charged public forum here Wednesday, Memorial Hospital of Salem County CEO Jim Angle took center floor as residents one-by-one voiced their concerns about the potential closure of the facility's maternity ward. Keeping the utmost civility, a prerequisite set by freeholders facilitating the meeting here at the Salem County Courthouse, many of the public comments carried the intonation that the hospital is protecting its profit margin before people.
"I think it's just a part of this corporate phenomenon which is so sad," said Darlene Maxwell, a senior citizen from Carneys Point. "Especially the way it is now with the economy."
Angle claimed that there has been a stagnant volume of births over the last few years, saying it is time to redesign their system. The for-profit hospital, located on Route 45 in Mannington Township, is run by Community Health Systems (CHS) of Brentwood, Tenn., one of the largest hospital system owners in the country. One of the key components of the issue is the hospital's aim to shed its state HealthStart license, which obligates them to provide care to pregnant women regardless of their ability to pay.
According to Angle, the hospital delivers about 380 babies per year, 220 of which are covered under HealthStart. "(We are) obligated by law to accept any women regardless of their insurance ... automatically into the HealthStart program," Angle said. "You can't turn them away ... Without the laws, we wouldn't do that either. We are good people, we are ethical people." Angle said they would like to transfer that license to South Jersey Family Medical Centers in Salem City, a federally-qualified health center that already deals with obstetrical, dental and primary care for the uninsured.
Yet Sue Smith, executive director of Cornerstone Women's Resource Centers, brought up a valid point about women who would go to the medical center for prenatal care, and whether or not they would keep the same doctor at the hospital which they deliver at. "Personally, having been pregnant, I would not go to a doc for prenatal care knowing I am not going to see him once it's time to deliver my child," Smith said.
Many of the deliveries could be done at South Jersey Healthcare - Elmer Hospital, which is interested in taking on the volume, Angle said. He did not say if it would be the same OB/GYN that gave prenatal care.
But the old Memorial Hospital owners have a big problem - and a legal position - with the maternity ward closing, after an asset purchase agreement was made during the sale in which CHS promised to essentially continue services for ten years. CHS purchased the hospital for $34 million in 2002 from a non-profit now know as The Fenwick Corporation.
"The (agreement) requires CHS to maintain previous levels of charity care," said Brian Duffy, chairman of the board of The Fenwick Corporation. "As of this time, Fenwick Corporation is not convinced that CHS's closing of maternity services would not violate these provisions of the (agreement)."
Lower Alloways Creek resident Sherman Wood said if the hospital reneged on its contract, it would have a hard time keeping its reputation with the community intact.
"Your integrity is pretty important," Wood said. "If you shut the maternity ward down, you still have an integrity issue, a large one I would think, by the fact that you are not going to follow a commitment that you made."
State Assemblywoman Celeste Riley said she and the other Third District Legislators are firm in their position to see the contract fulfilled. She added that 1,400 deliveries were recorded in Salem County in one year, and perhaps the hospital should look at stopping people from migrating to other facilities for care.
"Instead of sending our maternity patients to other facilities, why not ask if you would possibly study what it would take for you to stay here to be more competitive," Riley said. "They are leaving and not coming to you. So what could you do to attract them?"
When asked by Elmer resident Ben Laury how much money it would take to keep the maternity ward open, Angle at first deflected the question and, when asked a second time, responded with a flat "no, I'm not going to, I'm going to say thank you for your comments."
James Pope of the Salem County NAACP said there is a major concern that this is just the beginning of a larger company pull-out. "There's a lot of fear out there in the community about the hospital itself leaving the community," Pope said.
Angle stressed that the hospital will remain a fixture here, saying that since 2002 it has invested $30 million into improvements, such as a new emergency room, digital mammography and recruiting professionals. He said the hospital has recruited 18 to 20 new doctors to the community since 2002. No decision has been made about the fate of the maternity ward, Angle said.
Wednesday was simply part of the process of vetting concerns, receiving feedback and getting ideas. "This is part of the process of planning for hospitals," Angle said. "We are committed to involving everybody in the community."
Scanning the crowd of about 100 people, Pope noted that the women who would be most affected by the closure were noticeably absent.