Oelwein Hospital Decision Worries Residents

By Mark Geary, Reporter

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By Daren Sukhram

Story Created: Jun 2, 2009 at 9:15 PM CST

Story Updated: Jun 2, 2009 at 11:25 PM CST

OELWEIN - People and doctors in Oelwein are worried about the future of the town's hospital. The Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare System just announced plans to dissolve the hospital's local board of directors.

Hospital leaders insist disbanding the board will not affect patients or the hospital. But some doctors who work there disagree.

They hosted a meeting Tuesday evening that was attended by about 250 people.

Some doctors and patients fear the hospital's decision to disband the board will ultimately lead to a stripped down version of the hospital.

"There won't be weeds in the parking lot, but I think they could downsize it and turn it into an extended care nursing home," said Ken McDonough, an Oelwein resident.

"The corporation is interested in making money even though we are not for profit. The quality of care, the standard, the goal, which is taking care of people, is not being maintained here," said Dr. Clay Hallberg.

Locals don't want to lose their ability to go to the hospital for anything ranging from planned procedures to sudden emergencies.

"When you have an emergency happen and you have to travel quite a ways to get help for someone who's injured, that's a real concern," said Oelwein resident Dalene Gosse.

"There's no reason this hospital can't be successful if it's managed right," said Larry Recker, an Oelwein resident.

Hospital officials insist the doors will remain open, even though they eliminated the oversight board. Some patients and doctors think otherwise. Some are even planning to hire a lawyer to fight the system, try to regain local control and reestablish services that used to be offered there.

"We need to get together and work together to see what we can do," said Oelwein resident Dorothy Spragg.

Fighting a large corporation could take years, but key community leaders are confident they will win.

The hospital declined to comment but released this statement: "We are committed to continuing to provide quality care at Mercy Hospital in Oelwein. The Board on the local level will be dissolved, but the decision making power of the board will be enhanced. Mercy Hospital will have two Oelwein representatives on the Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-Iowa Board."

E-mail Mark Geary at Mark.Geary@kcrg.com or follow him on Twitter.

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