Becker's Hospital Review

21 FINANCE FINANCE 2 Hospitals at Risk of Closing Must Look Past 136-Year-Old Rivalry for Solution By Ayla Ellison T wo Kansas towns are facing the potential loss of their only hospitals, and a longstanding rivalry between the two towns is complicating efforts to preserve healthcare services, according to a KMUW report. Anthony (Kan.) Medical Center is located just 10 miles from Harper (Kan.) Hospital, and the two facilities have more in common than their geographical location — they're both losing money. Faced with reimbursement cuts from the state and federal governments, the two hospitals are exploring their options for the future. One potential solution is for the hospitals to join forces through a partnership agreement, but a clash that began in the 1800's may prevent that from happening. ere was an election in 1879 to decide whether Anthony or Harper would be the Harper County seat. Anthony won the courthouse, however, the battle continues today. Regardless of the past disagreements between their towns, Anthony Medical Center and Harper Hospital officials must look beyond their towns' differences and develop a unified vision to prevent their county from losing its two hospitals. "We know we have got to build community buy-in," Martha Hadsall, who chairs the Anthony Medical Center board, told KMUW. "We have to develop a clear, combined vision — and we don't have that yet." e best option for the hospitals is to build a new, combined facility, but that option would likely be met with even greater pushback than a partnership because it would require residents of one of the hospital districts to voluntarily dissolve their district. "Nobody wants to lose their hospital — the convenience of the clinics right in town, the ERs — we all understand that," Harper Hospital CEO Bill Widener told KMUW. "But the key phrase there is we don't want to lose our hospital. And this merger will give this county the best opportunity to maintain a good hospital and good healthcare right in the county." n New York Hospital Faces Closure After Buyer Backs Out By Ayla Ellison O fficials from Pomona, N.Y.-based Summit Park Hospital and Nursing Care Center intend to close the facilities at the end of the year after the planned private buyer backed out of the $32 million deal Sept. 29, according to The Journal News. "By pulling out of the deal in the eleventh hour, the prospective buyer confirms that it had failed…Summit Park patients, residents, medical staff and the people of Rockland County," said Ed Day, Rock- land County executive, according to the report. The planned buyer, Sympaticare, didn't participate in the press conference. The law firm represnting Sympaticare said the deadline for the deal wasn't met due to pending litigation. Lawsuits opposing the sale were filed by the Civil Service Employees Association, which represents many of Summit Park's workers. More than 400 people will lose their jobs when Summit Park clos- es, according to the report. n ACLU Hits Trinity Health With Lawsuit Alleging EMTALA Violations By Ayla Ellison T he American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit against Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health for refusing to provide emer- gency abortions to women whose incomplete miscarriages put them at high risk of serious complications. In its lawsuit, the ACLU claims Trinity Health denies appropriate emergency care to women suffering pregnancy complications, includ- ing miscarriages, in violation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. The ACLU specifically alleges one of Trinity's hospitals denied appropriate stabilizing care to several women who suffered a preterm, premature rupture of membranes — a condition in which the amniotic sac breaks and leaves no fluid around the fetus. The refusal of the hos- pital to terminate the pregnancies resulted in these women "hemor- rhaging, contracting life-threatening infections, and/or unnecessarily suffering severe pain for several days," according to the complaint. When premature rupture happens early in pregnancy, it almost always results in fetal death, Sara Prager, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington, told USA TODAY. "This is a situation where there is virtually no chance that the fetus will survive," she said. Trinity Health requires that all of its hospitals abide by the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, which pro- hibit Catholic hospitals from terminating pregnancies. A spokeswoman for Trinity defended the directives to USA TODAY and said they "are entirely consistent with high-quality healthcare." The Trinity spokeswoman also said the health system will seek dismissal of the ACLU's lawsuit. n

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