Mayor Heated Over State Decision On Lee Memorial

FULTON, NY – The Fulton mayor says he is angry about the state Department of Health’s decision to close inpatient beds and the emergency department at A.L. Lee Memorial Hospital.

Overall, Mayor Daryl Hayden said that he believes state representatives are not looking out for the city of Fulton.

“What are we supposed to do from here?” Hayden said Monday. “All of us have done what we can and the state is still not listening. Where do we go for help?

“It is disgusting that our representatives in Albany do not represent us,” Hayden added.

Hayden said he is not faulting Fulton’s local representatives like Senator Jim Wright and Assemblyman Will Barclay who have come forward and tried to help.

“I think they are doing what they can,” he said. “We are not being represented by the rest, including Eliot Spitzer.”

On Friday, Hayden said he received a call from Dennis Casey, executive director at Lee Memorial, who told him about the letter the hospital received from the state Department of Health. In that letter, the state directed Lee Memorial to comply with recommendations to convert to an outpatient/urgent care facility and close all 67 inpatient beds.

“If they knew what our winters were like here, they wouldn’t be doing this,” Hayden said. “But no one wants to know anything.”

As Fulton works to grow, Hayden said that the city already has what many communities want; a hospital. By closing down critical services such as inpatient care and an emergency room, Hayden said he believes the state is deciding to set Fulton back, rather than helping it grow.

“They don’t want to spend money here,” Hayden said. “I want to know why aren’t we worth as much as people in foreign countries that we are sending money to. They apparently see no need. That makes me sick.”

In the year since the Berger Commission released its recommendations for change at Lee Memorial, the city has sent letters to back the hospital and joined the efforts to keep the hospital untouched. Hayden said he has also been to Albany twice in hopes of meeting with officials who could have a say in the matter, including the governor.

“The bottom line is that Spitzer didn’t want to know us,” Hayden said. “It is apparently more important for illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses than it is for the city of Fulton to have a hospital to keep people alive. That is really sad.

“The ones we need to talk to avoid us,” Hayden added. “It is fine to see us when they are campaigning but not fine when there is a problem.”

Hayden noted that when Spitzer was campaigning for the governor’s seat, he was in Oswego County and told local officials that he would “not forget” this area if he won the position.

“It didn’t take him long to forget,” Hayden said. “But in Central New York, we won’t forget. There will be another election.

“It is one thing for Pataki to give him a knife,” Hayden added. “It is another thing for him to use it.”

At this point, Hayden said all the city can do is hope for the best and support Lee Memorial in any way that it can.

“With all 68 beds gone and no ER, it is going to hurt us,” Hayden said. “We are trying to build Fulton up and our representatives are not working with us. That’s not good for Fulton.”

Hospital officials are holding meetings this week to strategize Lee Memorial’s next steps. Hospital spokesperson Betsy Copps said Monday that the hospital is not giving up its fight against the Berger commission recommendations.

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11 Comments

  1. I agree with everything the Mayor said in this article, we all got behind Mr. Spitzer to help out this community, we thought, but it does seem like he has forgotten about Fulton. We need to keep the hospital if we are going to get more businesses in Fulton. Our winters and our senior citzens, should be enough to see that this is needed. I truly believe that the Commission never even looked at our hospital, all the good things that have changed, and the beds are almost always utilized. I feel this will be a hugh lost for the city, but we must all try to continue to keep our heads high, and look for other means to help keep our citizens of this great city safe and sound.

  2. We here in Fl. that are from your area have strong feeling about what the state is trying to do to your hospital.Get Hillary on line.Maybe she could help find a way to help out.
    Good Luck, and we do miss the area.

  3. I live four miles from Lee Memorial hospital.
    In 2004 I had a heart attack and went into cardiac arrest. the ambulance crew could not revive me.
    When I reached the hospital I was clinically dead.
    Dr Snider worked on me and finally revived me.
    If they had taken me to Oswego or Syracuse, I would not be here today.
    It is my opinion that the state of New York has given me and others in with severe heart conditions, and other llife threatening conditions, a death sentence.
    I find this totally irresponsible and uncaring.
    The representatives who have turned their back on us will certainly not get my vote, no matter what they are running for.

  4. My husband also suffered a heart attack and fulton lee memorial saved his life.now if oswego was on diversion and there doors were closed then that would mean a long trip to syracuse.and that’s if you made it while in cardiac arrest.I voted for MR SPITZER so did my family and friends.
    Well you can be sure we will never vote for him again.
    ALL i can say is if my husband ever suffers from a heart attack again and lee memorial hospital is shut down and he doesn’t make it becuse of that i will sue starting at the top with the berger commission and work my way to MR SPITZER.

  5. Mayor Hayden says “If they knew what our winters were like here, they wouldn’t be doing this,”. As I pointed out in the other article, that is a poor excuse to keep the hospital open. Everyone claims that people will die if they have to go from Fulton to Oswego in the harsh snowstorms. Again, what about the people in Hannibal, Phoenix, Palermo, Mexico, etc that would have to go through the exact same conditions just to get to Fulton? There are senior citizens in those communities as well. But of course, it’s not about them, right? It’s only about Fulton, the heck with those towns!! It’s that narrowminded mentality that’s causing the city and the hospital to go right down the toilet. If the city and the hospital tried a little harder to find reasons to convince the state to keep Lee open instead of sticking with an excuse that has more holes than Swiss cheese, they might have a better chance of surviving this.

  6. IF ANYONE HAS ANY REASONS, OTHER THAN WHAT HAS ALREADY TRIED, THEY SHOULD STATE THEM.
    AS FAR AS PEOPLE IN OUTLYING TOWNS, THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO GO TO WHATEVER HOSPITAL THE PREFER.

  7. “# James DuBois says:
    AS FAR AS PEOPLE IN OUTLYING TOWNS, THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO GO TO WHATEVER HOSPITAL THE PREFER.”

    I should point out that a good chunk of Lee’s business comes from the outlying towns. This isn’t about freedom of choice for the outlying towns. This is about keeping the hospital open, which I actually want to see happen. If the hospital closes, those people in the outlying towns will even have less to choose from. So quit only thinking about yourself and look at the big picture.

  8. I feel the state needs to take a further look into NOT closing Lee as an Inpatient facility. If Lee was not here my father who is 67 probobaly wouldnt be here today , but thanks to the ambulance crews and the staff at the hospital.A longer ride could’ve meant a more critical case or a fatality.Id rather go to a smaller hospital which is only like 2 miles from me to atleast get stabilized rather than travel 30 miles on an open highway during a snow storm that could take ALOT longer , and time is critical!! They are making a huge mistake closing this hospital and it will hurt our elder population. What will they do with no way to get to another place? DO they care…No…maybe we should get there phone number to call during the night for a ride!!

  9. IF MR DURYEA WILL READ MY ORIGINAL MESSAGE, I AM TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE IN OUTLYING TOWNS NOT BEING ABLE TO GET TO A HOSPITAL IN TIME

  10. I agree that not only the people of Fulton need this hospital emergency department, but all of the citizens in outlaying areas. What are we ALL going to do? The closing of Lee is unacceptable and no one should sit down and take it.

  11. If we wish to enlist the support of Albany we need to realize what our elected officials in Albany understand. Right now nothing is more important to the upstate economy than retaining and attracting good paying and diverse jobs. A prime example of this would be the projects that are underway at the former Miller Brewing property. Economic growth is directly tied to a sustainable infrastructure included in that infrastructure would be a well equipped and well trained nearby medical facility. Albany needs to be reminded that it is the local community, people and resources that are drawn upon during a time of crisis. If there should ever arise a need for an emergency response at the Biofuel Plant would or could or community respond in a timely and effective manner. Mr. Spitzer why fund a project to infuse the area with jobs and place all those people at risk if Albany has no intention of also supporting pieces of the local infrastructure such as Lee Memorial. This is why we continue to watch jobs leave the area. It often doesn’t take a great deal of money to support the building of projects but it does take a long term commitment to sustain those jobs. We as a state and a region need to send the right message to potential investors that we intend to be here today and many years down the road. Anything less is irresponsible.

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