MHCC announces clinic

County hospital announces Valley clinic in Friday press release, PVHP responds Monday

On July 26, Memorial Hospital of Carbon County (MHCC) announced in a press release that the MHCC Board of Trustees had unanimously approved a decision to “begin the process of acquiring or constructing a primary medical facility in the Platte Valley” during their regularly scheduled July 25 meeting.

Jason Campbell, MHCC Board of Trustees member and Saratoga resident, was quoted in the press release as saying “Memorial Hospital of Carbon County has played an important role in our family’s health for many years. I am pleased to play a part in bringing those same resources to my hometown and the Platte Valley.”

The press release went on to state that the Board of Trustees “is striving for reliable and consistent access to a full range of medical professionals. This includes Family Practice Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Nurses and Medical Assistants.” According to Chief Executive Officer Bob Quist, MHCC’s clinic network currently serves over 2,100 patients from the Platte Valley on an annual basis.

“With the increasing number of patients being seen in our clinics from the Platte Valley, this is a wonderful way to better serve our patients,” said Quist in the press release. “We are pleased that we are in a strong financial position to bring hospital and clinic services to this part of our county.”

The press release from the MHCC Board of Trustees continued by stating that the Board would move forward “with a proposal to the City of Saratoga to lease or purchase the current clinic.” Quist added that MHCC would “welcome discussions with the present clinic operator in Saratoga to explore a coordinated approach to the clinic management.”

Following the announcement from MHCC on Friday, the Platte Valley Healthcare Project (PVHP), the Corbett Medical Foundation and Health Management Services (HMS) issued a joint statement in a press release on Monday calling the announcement “a duplication of services, not an expansion.”

“Our group reached out to MHCC in March of 2018 asking for help with clinic operations,” read the statement. “Their board made it clear that they were not interested in assisting. They cited an existing lease on the clinic building as their reason for declining our requests. Over the past 30 years, there has been very little interest in the Valley’s healthcare needs.”

The press release went on to state that the PVHP had seen what they described as “an increase in resistance from our county hospital” as the plans for a critical access hospital in the Valley have been formulated by the group.

“The fact here is that MHCC’s board wants to preserve their market share by preventing expanded services in the Platte Valley at the expense of our community residents’ well-being and safety,” the statement read. “The financial stability of the MHCC is due in part to their designation as a Critical Access Hospital. What we are exploring is whether or not this same model, but on a smaller scale, could work locally and in the same effort save our failing nursing home services that our local seniors and their families need.”

The joint statement added that, during his presentation to the Saratoga Town Council, Quist had stated “his organization was not in the nursing home business, nor did they have interest.” In fact, Quist had told the town council that, while MHCC did not engage in operations of skilled nursing facilities, the hospital could pursue a partnership with a company that operates such facilities at the Town of Saratoga’s direction (see “Presentation consternation” on page 3 of the May 29 Saratoga Sun).

“MHCC also indicated their intent to purchase or lease the Corbett Medical building from the Town of Saratoga. If this were to happen, it would be at the expense of our current local providers who have shown a willingness to explore long term solutions that will improve access for all Valley residents and guests,” the joint statement continued. “It is important for all Valley residents to remember that the building and all of its contents were paid for entirely by the Corbett Medical Foundation; our position is that any proceeds from the sale of said property be returned to the foundation that has shepherded healthcare in the Valley for so many years.”

The statement finished by reminding residents of the next meeting of the Saratoga Town Council at 6 p.m. on Aug. 6 and the next meeting of the PVHP at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 14 at the Platte Valley Community Center.

This is a developing story and the Saratoga Sun will work to keep our readers updated.

 

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