Mayor plans talks with competing health care providers

He’s seeking alternatives to Aurora in Burlington

By Ed Nadolski

Editor in Chief

Burlington Mayor Bob Miller met recently with a representative of an area health care provider to discuss local opportunities in light of Aurora Health Care’s decision to stop delivering babies at Memorial Hospital of Burlington.

Miller, who declined to name the provider, said the discussion was preliminary and centered on the community’s needs and emerging opportunities.

He also said he has a meeting scheduled with Vicky Lewis, president of Aurora Memorial Hospital of Burlington and Aurora Lakeland Medical Center, Elkhorn, on Jan. 17 to discuss Aurora’s decision to close the birthing center in Burlington this summer.

In a letter sent to Aurora President Dr. Nick Turkal late last month, Miller said he was disappointed with the decision and he urged the state’s largest health care provider to reconsider.

Despite his lobbying efforts, Miller said Tuesday he didn’t anticipate Aurora reversing the decision.

He also said he planned to speak with representatives of two other health care organizations to gauge their interest in possibly expanding into the Burlington area.

Miller has said his goal is to retain or provide a full-service, community-centered hospital in Burlington.

In November Aurora officials sent an email to employees at the Burlington hospital announcing that it would shift labor and delivery services to Lakeland in the summer of 2013.

Lewis later released a statement to the Standard Press that explained the change is necessary to allow Aurora to provide a sustainable model of care.

Aurora will continue to provide prenatal, gynecological and other women’s health services in Burlington.

Although Miller declined to offer specifics about his discussions, it is likely he is targeting ProHealth Care of Waukesha, Mercy Health System of Janesville and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, which operates All Saints of Racine.

All three providers offer services in nearby communities.

Miller has said the biggest fear area residents have is losing a full-service hospital in favor of a regional medical center elsewhere.

Those fears were real more than a decade ago when Aurora made plans to replace both Memorial Hospital and Lakeland Medical Center will a single facility to serve the entire area. However, Aurora has long since abandoned that specific plan and has made multi-million-dollar improvements to both hospitals.

Earlier this year Lewis said Aurora is committed to providing services in Burlington, but would not speculate at what level those services would exist.

Aurora remains one of Burlington’s largest employers.