MassillonLIVE! We Take You There! .. Editorial!

April 12th 2018

Losing Affinity Medical Center! Short and long term effects for the city and its people!

(Massillon): It's been a few months now. The shock has worn off since Quorum Health abruptly announced that they were shutting down Massillon's only hospital and walking away. Quorum is the villain here; however; their decision was a bottom line business decision.

One of the hard realities is that Massillon is an aging population with a poverty rate of close to 20%. That combination plays a role in the number of Medicaid patients that come through the doctors door which also directly affects cash flow in the healthcare business. Don't get me wrong here; The numbers can still be worked out but Quorum is a high profit business. If they don't see a big bottom line; then they'll go somewhere else to turn a buck.

When Quorum laid the deal on the table (The purchase of the facility and its contents and related real estate for a dollar); city council had literally minutes to make such an enormous decision which also included maintenance and ongoing debt. No one wants to be put into a position like that. In the end; council felt it would be the best opportunity with hopes of bringing in a possible buyer.

We understand that there are a few interested groups talking with the city; and we genuinely hope something develops.

HEALTH IMPACT!

If you already don't know this; we'll repeat it. The health impact; (or lack of) poses significant threats to the well being of citizens not just in Massillon; but in every community and rural area between Orrville and Canton. That is a lot of territory when it comes to emergency response. And once first responders arrive; they now have to do whatever they can to keep someone alive for the additional time it takes to transport that critical care patient to Canton.

That eight to ten to fifteen minutes could well be the difference between whether your loved one lives or dies. Here's where we'll jump in and say thank you to Quorum by choosing greed over saving someone's life!

In addition to response time for our residents; there is also the additional pressure put on our friends at Aultman and Mercy Medical Center. They must now handle the influx of critical and non critical care patients from a large populated area that now has no emergency health services available to them.

There are many other trickle down effects from this closure including the economic impact it has on those who are now without jobs. This impact will affect the tax base for our municipality. Add to that the costs the city will incur on maintaining the hospital while it's idle. These are major challenges that will play a vital role in economic development. Will those plans be affected? That has yet to be determined.

We know that Mayor Catazaro-Perry and her team are working hard to attract possible buyers to the table. We also know that they will be diligent when it comes to controlling the costs to maintain the site while it is vacant. Below are a few comments that she had while addressing council during last Mondays work session which includes the possibility of relocating the cities health department. We wish her and her team well in their hard work to return proper medical care to a community of wonderful citizens that deserve nothing less.