Below is the full text of Oswego Health’s statement:
To all the people of Oswego County From the Board of Directors of Oswego Health
Rulings by the Berger Commission require the State of New York to close in-patient and emergency services at A. L. Lee Memorial Hospital in Fulton at the end of this month. The board and management of Lee have led a valiant attempt to preserve these services in Fulton.
On June 5, 2008 Lee Memorial officials presented a proposal for a legal affiliation with Oswego Health and Oswego Hospital. An “affiliation†is a legally complex and expensive undertaking that would divert scarce resources from recruiting physicians, developing facilities and maintaining high quality health care in Oswego County.
After careful deliberation, Oswego Health has concluded that it cannot and will not pursue an affiliation with Lee at this time.
Three compelling reasons directed us to this decision.
First, we recognize Lee’s desire to maintain emergency services in Fulton. Oswego Health shares that concern and is ready and willing to allocate the appropriate resources to create efficient and cost effective services that meet the needs of patients in the Fulton community. On the other hand, the affiliation Lee proposed would jeopardize Oswego Health’s financial resources and medical service capabilities, thus reducing our ability to serve more Oswego County citizens than we do today.
Second, with the ending of in-patient and emergency services at Lee, Oswego Health will be the only acute care general hospital in Oswego County. As such, Oswego Health must remain as financially and clinically strong as possible in order to meet the entire County’s increased future health care needs — including southern Oswego County and the City of Fulton.
Third, because Lee’s proposal was presented to us close to the State’s designated closure date, we are unable to conduct a thorough due diligence review necessary to confirm its financial and legal feasibility. However, based on the information we have at this time, the Oswego Health Board believes that a legal affiliation with Lee Memorial Hospital could jeopardize the future financial viability of Oswego Health. As legally and financially problematic as an affiliation may be, it may not be feasible at all.
Oswego Health believes the best way to efficiently and effectively assure service coverage for the southern portion of our County is to do so directly in collaboration with the people that live in the greater Fulton community. To demonstrate our commitment to service coverage in the Fulton area, we will invite a number of individuals from that community to serve on the Board of Directors of Oswego Health and/or Oswego Hospital in July. With the direct participation of Fulton-area citizens, we can develop the best possible health care for all the people of Oswego County.
