OGDENSBURG, New York (WWNY) – Residents, nurses and elected officials gathered Wednesday night at Ogdensburg Free Academy for a second public hearing on North Star Health Alliance\u2019s bankruptcy restructuring plan, which includes proposals to close the labor and delivery unit at Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center and eliminate nuclear medicine and primary care services at four other locations throughout St. Lawrence County.<\/p>\n
Rally precedes hearing<\/p>\n
The event began with a rally outside the building. Members of the New York State Nurses Association and Claxton-Hepburn employees protested the proposed cuts before filing into the auditorium for the formal hearing hosted by North Star officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf one baby or mother dies because they can\u2019t get to a facility in time, are their lives worth 3 million dollars? That\u2019s the question. How much is one life worth?\u201d said Harper-Moulton, one of the rally speakers.<\/p>\n
Vernon \u201cSam\u201d Burns, president of the Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence County Central Trades and Labor Council, placed blame on leadership rather than staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe financial challenges attributed to North Star reflect managerial decisions and governance lapses, rather than the efforts of dedicated, union caregivers,\u201d Burns said.<\/p>\n
North Star officials cite financial losses, declining birth rates<\/p>\n
North Star Health Alliance interim CEO Andrew Manzer defended the proposed closures, saying the decisions were driven by financial losses and declining birth rates in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just a financial number. A financial number is an outcome. This is the reality that we\u2019re having to face to save this organization, and to keep as much here from a healthcare standpoint as we possibly can,\u201d Manzer said.<\/p>\n
Carthage Area Hospital COO Jerian O\u2019Dell presented data supporting the proposal.<\/p>\n
\u201c2025 illustrates where we are today. We average fewer than 10 deliveries per month and the service operated at nearly a 3 million dollar loss,\u201d O\u2019Dell said.<\/p>\n
Community members and nurses respond<\/p>\n
Surgical nurse Jessica Thornton said the financial justification was insufficient.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you close this unit, you\u2019re not consolidating services, you\u2019re actively transforming preventable, treatable complications into maternal and neonatal deaths,\u201d Thornton said.<\/p>\n
Ogdensburg resident Claire Murdock, a former Claxton-Hepburn employee, urged officials to preserve the hospital\u2019s maternity services.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the health, safety and the lives of our pregnant women and their babies in our community, I implore you to do whatever is necessary to maintain the excellent care offered at Claxton-Hepburn,\u201d Murdock said.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers call on state to intervene<\/p>\n
State Sen. Mark Walczyk said the community\u2019s need for maternity care would not diminish regardless of the financial picture.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Ogdensburg, people aren\u2019t going to stop getting pregnant and having babies. It\u2019s not going to stop. You may say the numbers aren\u2019t going to work financially. That\u2019s a piece where we need a partner to figure out how to make it work and sustain,\u201d Walczyk said.<\/p>\n
Assemblyman Scott Gray of the 116th Assembly District directed his remarks at state regulators.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me be direct to the Department of Health. I\u2019m not asking for conditions. I\u2019m asking you to deny this closure,\u201d Gray said.<\/p>\n
North Star Health Alliance must receive approval from the New York State Department of Health before any of the proposed cuts can take effect.<\/p>\n
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