CLEARFIELD – Yesterday, Penn Highlands Clearfield Hospital’s board of directors held their annual meeting and after the report of activities for the 2015 fiscal year, began addressing concerns raised by the community.
More than 30 people from the community were able to attend the meeting, which took place at 4 p.m. at the business offices located on West Front Street.
Those attending included former nurses, doctors, community leaders and other citizens who have formed a community group focused on addressing issues and getting answers from Penn Highlands Healthcare.
Board of Directors Chairman Dave Lezzer said the local board is active in decisions for Penn Highlands Clearfield and the parent board has not reversed any of those decisions.
He said he knows many of the decisions were not popular, but they were necessary and will not be reversed. He also informed the group that the meeting, which included the report for FY 2015, was to only last until 5 p.m.
President Gary Macioce had a PowerPoint presentation prepared and noted a letter that had been circulating in the community, written by a local attorney, which noted many of the concerns people have.
He said the hospital has seen a reduction in the level of inpatient care, which required adjustment of how the hospital operates. Fewer patients are admitted in hospitals everywhere, he said.
Also, according to Macioce, Penn Highlands Clearfield has lost more than $31 million in the past six years. “No organization can continue to operate under those circumstances,” he said.
Restructuring, he said, has included smaller and less complex inpatient services; increasing access to outpatient services and recruiting physicians; discontinuing low-volume, high-cost services; and providing regional access.
The first issue he brought up on the PowerPoint was concern that the board of directors has no power. He said the board has full decision-making authority and reiterated that the parent board for Penn Highlands Healthcare has supported all decisions but does have certain reserve powers. He said Penn Highlands Clearfield is a private organization.
At that point, Dr. Michael Dotsey spoke up and asked when the hospital became a private organization. He said he understood the hospital had been a non-profit organization.
He also disputed the numbers presented by Macioce and referred to numbers reported to GuideStar.org, which provides information on non-profit organizations. He said according to the Web site, the numbers quoted by Macioce are different and asked why.
A woman in the audience spoke up and said certain things have been done illegally and contracts have been broken. She said the care at the hospital is good, but the staff and doctors are not being treated well or getting needed raises.
Joann Myers, a member of the nurse’s alumni, said the majority of people in town are extremely concerned about the hospital and referred to the community meeting held in June at the courthouse where hundreds gathered to express concern about the hospital.
Dotsey added that the board of directors had an opportunity to attend that meeting and address concerns, but instead submitted an article to the media that didn’t answer concerns. “I’m asking you to help us get back our hospital,” he said.
Dotsey said the hospital was doing well financially until 2011, referring again to information on GuideStar.org.
After additional discussion, Macioce was asked if it was true that DuBois hospital (Penn Highlands DuBois) recently announced they are operating in the black. When Macioce said that was correct, several audience members stated it was because services were taken from Clearfield and people now have to go to DuBois for those services.
It was noted that some services discontinued at Clearfield include the intensive care unit, radiation cancer treatment and the maternity ward.
The next issue Macioce brought up concerned ICU. He said the unit averaged one to two patients per day and the cost to maintain was very high.
At that point, audience members asked about the operating rooms being closed after 3:30 p.m. and Macioce noted the hospital had a low volume of after-hour surgeries, hence the change, resulting in one person saying, “That’s what hospitals are for!”
Meyers noted that the maternity ward at the hospital had been a state-of-the-art facility and wondered why, if Clearfield’s OB/GYN has to spend weekends on call at DuBois, an OB/GYN from DuBois couldn’t have provided the same service, noting people want to have their babies at their home hospital.
Macioce then brought up the next slide and said that the volume of deliveries at Clearfield was fewer than 200 per year, adding that the birthrate in the country was at an overall low. He said there is only one obstetrician in Clearfield and that 45 hospitals in the state have made similar moves.
In regards to the cancer center, he said the radiation unit closed in January of 2014 again because it operated at a low volume. The unit opened in 2008 and saw eight patients a day or less, which was not sustainable, he said.
He said medical oncology continues at the center and a new oncologist was recently hired, Dr. Maofu Fu. When asked, he said Fu operates independently and the clinic is operated by DuBois because the hospital can get medication at decreased cost due to a federal program. Therefore, he said that the revenues go to DuBois.
Another issue addressed was that Penn Highlands Clearfield intentionally admits emergency room patients to DuBois. Macioce said this is false and the hospital has always and only sent patients to DuBois when the needed physician or clinical support was unavailable.
Members of the audience spoke out, stating that this was not true, that emergency room patients are regularly sent to DuBois, and one woman noted that she listens to the scanner and has spoken with emergency medical technicians and they are regularly told to take patients to DuBois.
Other items mentioned during the meeting included information about the clinic in Philipsburg, which is owned by Penn Highlands Clearfield but staffed by Penn Highlands DuBois.
Also, the new clinic at Clearfield, which will include walk-in services, will be located at the Yingling Cancer Center building, and the public was told the cancer center would retain the Nathaniel D. Yingling MD name.
Lezzer called for close of the meeting at 5:08 p.m. and when public members protested, he said he told them it would end at 5 p.m. He said changes were made for the hospital’s sake and the board is doing what it can to save the hospital.
Someone in the audience then said the board has not been transparent enough and one meeting a year isn’t enough transparency. Another comment was that the board members should have come to the meeting in June to address fears and concerns.
