Aurora stands firm on O.B. closing; city must now decide whether to further pursue alternatives
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Staff Writer
If City of Burlington leaders were holding out hope Aurora Health Care officials would change their minds about closing the obstetrics department at Memorial Hospital of Burlington, a meeting on Tuesday ended what little suspense there was.
Both Mayor Bob Miller and hospital President Vicki Lewis confirmed Aurora’s decision is final.
Now all the intrigue shifts to just how the city will respond.
Miller said the city held a flicker of hope Aurora would reverse its decision even as it entered discussions with United Hospital System of Kenosha regarding the possibility of opening a second hospital here.
But the specter of additional competition and likely upheaval of the local health care market has apparently held no sway over Aurora’s decision, which first became public last November.
Tuesday’s meeting, according to sources, included city officials and an advisory committee of community leaders on one side, and Lewis along with Jeff Bailet, Executive Vice President of Aurora Medical Group, among others, on the other side.
Neither side was willing to talk much about the meeting, except to say things hadn’t changed.
“There’s been no votes taken. There’s just been discussions back and forth,” said Miller on the advisory committee’s part.
Meanwhile, Lewis reiterated Aurora’s position in an email sent to the Standard Press Tuesday night in reply to questions regarding the matter.
“Aurora Health Care’s commitment to the Burlington community has never wavered,” she said. “As we look at ways to enhance our care offerings, we believe the community deserves nothing less than a thoughtful, business-like process.
“To this end, the kind of two-way dialogue that occurred at today’s meeting is an important component in our decision-making process.”
Miller, in a telephone interview after the meeting, said he understands Aurora’s decision if he looks at it strictly from a business standpoint.
However, when it comes to wearing the hat of mayor – and seeing the decision through the eyes of his citizens – it’s not so easy to swallow.
“It makes sense for the bottom line,” Miller said. “But does it make sense for the City of Burlington?”
According to all but one person Miller has heard from, no, it doesn’t.
“Everything I’ve gotten back, public feedback wise – except for one person – (contends) this is not right for the city,” Miller said.
And yet, as discussions enter the fifth month on how Burlington should handle the impending close of that department, there seems to be no easy answer to the issue.
Aurora plans to close the birthing center in Burlington in July and consolidate that department at Aurora Lakeland Medical Center near Elkhorn. The Burlington hospital will continue to offer prenatal, postpartum and other women’s health services, but deliveries will be handled at Lakeland.
“Aurora has informed me in no uncertain terms that their decision to close OB is firm and they will not change that,” Miller said. “They’ve made it very clear that the decision to close OB will stand.”
Aurora Spokesman Adam Beeson said Tuesday the hospital plans to use the space currently occupied by the obstetrics department for expansion and enhancement of existing services.
“We’ve defined that we’re consolidating and that new services are going into the space,” said Beeson. Aurora has said it plans to expand cancer, women’s health, cardiac and orthopedic care into that space.
Although Miller has expressed frustration over an inability to get Aurora to seriously consider reversing its decision, he appears averse to making a hasty decision regarding United Hospital System’s offer to build here.
In previous interviews Miller has acknowledged Aurora’s position as the city’s top employer and has said any decision will have to be made with an eye toward what’s best for the long-term health of the city’s residents and its economy.
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Aurora, as a non-profit hospital system, must meet certain requirements to maintain the benefits of its non-profit status.
Provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) require each non-profit hospital facility in the United States to conduct a community health needs assessment (CHNA) and adopt an implementation strategy to meet identified community health needs. In conducting the CHNA, non-profit hospitals are required to take into account input from persons who represent the broad interests of the community served, including those with special knowledge of or expertise in public health.
Based on the community response to the likely closure of the OB unit, one would wonder if this hospital’s decision was well aligned with community needs, interests and priorities.
This current situtation underscores the need for citizens to be actively engaged in all phases of community health planning: from designing assessment tools, to issue prioritization, to strategy development. The hospital’s community benefit plan must reflect the local context and needs, but if citizens aren’t engaged in the process, the hospital is in the position to write the story (a story, in this case, which might leave out the bits about how passionate local residents feel about birthing, and babies and Burlington).
Ask to see that community benefit plan. Ask to be involved in all phases of the process. Doing so may prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future.
I think the community needs to look at the declining number of deliveries at MHB and how many Burlington residents already deliver at Aurora Lakeland Medical Center. For some residents on the further East areas of Burlington, they also have the option of delivering at Aurora Kenosha and may be doing so already. Are the people that are verbalizing their unhappiness with the decision of child-bearing age? Or are they basing their opinion because of an experience in the past? I’m sure the decision by Aurora Health Care was not made lightly, but after close scrutinty of what services are actually utilized at MHB. Perhaps there should have been more communication with the community regarding the changing needs prior to the decision. Birthing Centers in hospitals are not money makers to begin with and if a hospital is losing money daily on a service that is not utilized fully, then things will change. Our economy is changing and health care is undergoing restructure. It is the new way of delivering care and it is responsible use of health care dollars. Perhaps there can be a story written on how happy Burlington residents have been with their birthing experience at Lakeland Medical Center and look at this as a positive change.
I am of birthing age and I’ve been an outspoken critic of Aurora’s decision. Given the opportunity to use Lakeland as my birthing center or shop the other facilities that will also have me driving twenty plus minutes, I can assure you that Lakeland is not my top choice. I can also assure you that Kenosha has more than Aurora to offer and I would likely choose St Catherine’s. Regardless, as a mother of child birthing age, there’s not a snow-ball’s chance in hell, I will risk sitting in a ditch (best case scenario) on the side of highway 11, which may or may not be under construction in the middle of the winter.