CLEARFIELD – A small but determined group gathered Monday afternoon to try to save their local hospital.
Citizens of Clearfield have been doing what they can to get the attention of officials and board members of the hospital, now known as Penn Highlands Clearfield, since Penn Highlands started making major changes to the hospital shortly after taking over.
In June, members of the Hospital Auxiliary held a town hall meeting at the Clearfield County Courthouse, where county and local officials, doctors, nurses, health care workers and concerned citizens spoke out about the changes and cuts to the hospital, with hopes of getting a response from officials from Penn Highlands.
On Monday, a small group gathered at the Clearfield Driving Park and walked up McBride Street to Turnpike Avenue, where the hospital is located. The group marched several laps around the front of the hospital, then gathered and displayed signs. The group chose to march Monday, as a meeting of the hospital board was to be held that evening, however, the meeting was not open to the public.
“We’re extremely upset with the way the hospital is being dismantled by Penn Highlands,” Resident Jim Leitzinger said. “First we lost our maternity unit, which was one of the best maternity units in central Pennsylvania.
“Then, unbeknownst to anybody, they took out the Yingling Radiation/Cancer unit, which was put in by the Yingling family. Nobody knew anything about it. Then they took away the ICU unit, which cuts down on the major surgeries they can do.
“We feel that Clearfield has at least 25,000 patients on this side of the mountain. We want to make the (hospital) board and the hospital administration aware that there are people who are upset about what’s been going on and that there has been no input from the citizens of this area. We’re just told this is what they’re doing and that’s it. We’re trying to make them hear our voice.”
“As a small business owner in Clearfield, I think it’s crucial that we have a hospital that we can depend on. It’s not right that our senior citizens have to drive to other towns so far away, especially with the weather we have in the winter,” Tammy Henry, owner of Tammy’s Garden, in Clearfield, said. “It’s one of our basic needs as a small town to have a good hospital.”
“The reason I’m out here today is because I want to support this hospital,” Michael Searle said. “I believe they need this hospital open, not only for this area, but for the surrounding communities. If they close this hospital, it will not only put a hurting on this community, but the surrounding communities as well. We need this hospital to stay open.”
“We need to keep our hospital,” Shirley Hatten said. “We need to keep the services we already have. It’s really important that we keep (the) emergency (department). We have over 800 seniors living in this area that still live in their own homes that need this as much as anybody.”
“I’ve been involved in this (the citizens group) since about February,” Joann Myers said. “Our main goal is to bring back the services that have been taken from our hospital. We want patient care, health care, in our community and we realize this is also affecting our economy.”
“A lot of people in this community don’t understand that this place is totally controlled now by Penn Highlands,” John Sughrue said. “And we are a minority.
“There are 20,000 people over here that are not guaranteed healthcare and it’s going to get worse. They’re trying to close the hospital (operating hours) at 5 p.m. The state has turned them down twice, and we have to work to get back the acute medicine and the ICU, and a first-class ER has to be here.
“We have to be able to treat the sick people because there are going to be times where you don’t have an ambulance available or you can’t get across the mountain.
“I think the people of Clearfield really need to get on the ball, and our politicians have to step up here and help us. If we get a bad accident on I-80 and you can’t get across the mountain in bad weather, there’s no ICU and no surgeons, only God knows what would happen to the people as they sit here waiting.”
