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Wednesday, July 18, 2012

TODAY: Residents rally to save Westerly Hospital

Wednesday forum part of larger effort to preserve essential health care provider
By Will Collette

Later today, a new group called the Westerly Hospital Area Residents Committee will hold an informational session at the hospital for interested citizens to hear more about the challenges Westerly Hospital faces to its survival.

The Hospital is currently under the supervision of a Special Master and is, for all practical purposes, insolvent. Without either a miracle or a buyer such as Lawrence & Memorial Hospital of New London, the future of the hospital is in doubt.

For many Charlestown residents, Westerly Hospital is the nearest facility for emergency and other hospital-based services. Many of our area’s doctors, specialists and medical services are clustered in and around the Hospital.


Westerly Hospital, like South County Hospital, suffers from being paid a different, lower rate for its services than facilities in the metro area, even though, quite arguably, it’s as expensive, if not more so, to maintain services in a lower population area.

Some health care planners are fine with the idea of concentrating services where population is concentrated. Without denying the need for more services where there are more people, there is more to the equation. Like the mortality rate for heart attack, accident or stroke victims when it takes an hour to transport them to Rhode Island Hospital, rather than 10 minutes to Westerly.

Our state legislators – Reps. Donna Walsh and Sam Azzinaro and Sen. Dennis Algiere have fought for fairer reimbursement rates with some success, but not enough to stave off Westerly Hospital’s financial emergency.

If you support Westerly Hospital’s survival, or simply want to find out more about the problems the Hospital faces, you should plan to attend Wednesday’s session.

Please see the details, below.