Aurora officials say it will be the end of the year before they’ll know future of Burlington hospital

City officials were hoping to learn more in June

Aurora Health Care officials announced Thursday afternoon that it will be the end of the year before they make any decision regarding the long-term future of medical facilities in the Burlington area.

In a statement sent to the Standard Press, Jeffrey Bailet, executive vice president of Aurora Medical Group, said:

“Aurora Health Care’s board of directors is evaluating the organization’s strategic needs for clinical services and sites, including those in Burlington and the surrounding communities.

“Capital expenditures of this magnitude (potentially hundreds of millions of dollars) require a thoughtful, analytical process.  This work will continue into the fall, with a board decision on capital expenditures expected at the end of 2013.”

In the meantime, Aurora has set up a website to allow Burlington area residents to express ideas, comments and concerns to the health care provider.

“…We want to receive input from the people we serve,” Bailet said.  “We encourage members of the Burlington community to share their thoughts through a webpage specifically built for this purpose.”

That page can be found at http://www.aurorahealthcare.org/burlington-compliments-and-concerns.

An Aurora official noted when he released the statement to the newspaper that Aurora planned to also inform city officials that there would be no decisions until the end of the year.

However, Mayor Bob Miller said Monday he had not heard from Aurora and didn’t know about the announcement until he read it on this website.

Miller said he had been attempting to set up a meeting with Aurora officials to discuss future plans.

So, the news that Aurora won’t do that until the end of the year came as a disappointment for Miller and other city officials who were holding out hope Aurora would provide some insight into its future plans for Aurora Memorial Hospital of Burlington in June.

Miller admitted he is both anxious for a resolution – and disappointed because the flow of information has been restricted.

“I’m disappointed that the communication with Aurora hasn’t been what I’d hoped for,” said Miller last week in an interview prior to the announcement. “I’m anxious, that whatever Aurora is going to do, that we get notified sooner rather than later, so the city can react.”

Information on the future of the city’s hospital has been in limbo for the last five months as city staff has weighed options – including the idea of working with another medical group to Burlington to build another hospital – in light of Aurora’s decision in late 2012 to close the birthing department at the hospital and shift those facilities to Lakeland Medical Center near Elkhorn.

It’s been five months of uncertainty, and the opinions have been varied on just what the city should do. United Hospital System has broached the subject of building a hospital in Burlington, but neither United nor the city are making any moves until they know what Aurora’s plans are.

Or, as Miller put it, he, his staff and the city’s advisory group on the hospital situation are playing a game of “what if.”

“We’ve been more or less looking at ‘what if’ scenarios,” he said of discussions with the advisory committee. “I haven’t really asked them point-blank what their preference is or what their desires are.”

Bill Stone, a retired oncologist in Burlington who helped bring Aurora to the city, said it was a waiting game.

“We’ve just sort of been treading water, waiting for their response,” Stone said.

Stone said he could only speak for himself, but he wanted to give Aurora a chance.

“I can’t speak for the others,” Stone said. “My feeling is we ought to pursue working with Aurora if they are willing to maintain in-patient facilities as well as out-patient facilities.”

The idea of having an in-patient facility is key, he said, if expenses can be justified. He also added Aurora has mostly done a good job.

“They’ve really been a pretty good provider, other than not communicating well,” Stone said. “I’m just hopeful we’ll be able to work things out with Aurora.

“If it does not work out, other options will need to be explored,” he added. “And now we know there are other options.”

Despite the city’s hopes for a quick resolution, however, it remains to be seen just how much Aurora officials will reveal about their plans for Burlington.

Many in the area believe Aurora – the state’s largest health care provider and Burlington’s largest employer – plans to build a new hospital elsewhere in the area to replace the facilities in Burlington and Elkhorn. Officials in Burlington have expressed a fear that services at the current hospital would subsequently be limited to outpatient procedures.