Stone urges city not to turn its back on Aurora

Retired physician says officials should focus on retention

By Ed Nadolski

Editor in Chief

Despite the anger among some local residents and officials over Aurora Health Care’s decision to stop delivering babies at Memorial Hospital of Burlington, at least one member of the mayor’s advisory committee on health care believes it would be a mistake for the city to partner with a competing provider to build a second hospital here.

Dr. Bill Stone, a retired oncologist who was instrumental in the transition of the Burlington Clinic – and eventually Memorial Hospital – to Aurora’s ownership in the 1990s, said the city’s current response could have the opposite of its intended impact by diluting the quality of health care in the area and driving up costs.

“One just needs to think of Oconomowoc and the turf fights that ensued with their present two inpatient facilities that exist with less than optimal use,” he said in an opinion piece that appears on page 6 of this edition.

Instead, he suggests, the city should consider working with Aurora much like it has with United Hospital System of Kenosha, which has expressed an interest in building a hospital in Burlington that would directly compete with Aurora Memorial Hospital of Burlington.

Putting together a package of incentives to entice Aurora to build a new hospital here would likely be more productive and better for the market than bringing in a new hospital to compete with Aurora, Stone said in an interview Monday.

“I think it’s time to tuck in our tail,” he said regarding the acrimony over the closing of the obstetrics department. “I think making a concerted effort to sit down and talk with Aurora will be better in the long run.”

Although he said he was speaking on his own behalf, Stone said he knows there are other members of the advisory committee who are uncomfortable – at least at this point – with the idea of the city facilitating construction of a second hospital and its potential impact on the local market.

Another view

Committee member Dennis Lynch, a local attorney, said his greatest fear is that Aurora will consolidate the Burlington and Elkhorn hospitals and build a new hospital elsewhere – most likely in Lake Geneva – leaving Burlington with fewer local services than it now has.

“I, personally, am torn. I see 1,000 jobs,” Lynch said in reference to Aurora’s status as Burlington’s largest employer. “But, I think eventually Aurora will build a hospital elsewhere.

“There seems to be a school of thought (on the committee) that if they’re going anyway, you might as well get someone else in here.”

That, Lynch said, is the dilemma facing most of the members of the advisory committee. And without some assurances from Aurora on the long-term future of the Burlington hospital such a decision is a crapshoot.

City officials and members of the advisory committee met in April with Aurora officials, including Jeffrey Bailet, senior vice president of Aurora Health Care.

At that meeting Aurora officials highlighted the system’s investment in the Burlington hospital – $15 million over 10 years in physician recruitment and retention; and $30 million over the last decade for capital improvements and equipment.

According to Mayor Bob Miller, Bailet said Aurora’s corporate board would be discussing future plans internally in late May.

How much of those plans and the impact on Burlington that Aurora will be willing to reveal remains to be seen.

Lynch said the committee is essentially in limbo without further information.

Miller told the Standard Press last week that he’s hopeful Aurora will disclose its long-range plans in June.

A bit of history

The issue surrounding the local hospital blew up late last fall after word got out that Aurora planned to close the obstetrics department at Memorial Hospital because, according to system officials, the declining number of births here impact the sustainability and, potentially, the quality of the service in the future.

While the Burlington Clinic and hospital will continue to provide prenatal, postpartum and women’s gynecological services, all births will be transferred to Aurora Lakeland Medical Center near Elkhorn in July.

This winter Aurora announced it would expand some existing services and add cardiac rehabilitation services to the vacated obstetrics department.

Soon after Aurora’s announcement regarding the closing of the birthing department, Miller pledged to seek alternatives as a means to maintain local birthing services for area residents. At the time he said his goal was to maintain a full-service community hospital in Burlington.

Like many in the area, Miller was surprised by the eager response from United Hospital System, which operates two hospitals and several clinics in the Kenosha area.

It now appears the city is at least considering the viability of a 50-50 partnership with United Hospital System for financing another hospital here.

Focus on Aurora

Stone said he’d rather see the city focus its efforts on retaining an Aurora hospital, rather than attracting a new one.

It wouldn’t be the first time Burlington lobbied Aurora to build a new hospital here. A decade ago when Aurora first announced plans to consolidate the Burlington and Elkhorn hospitals, city officials did their best to convince Aurora to build in or near Burlington. Although no package of incentives was revealed, it was reported at the time that Burlington was one of three sites under consideration.

However, those consolidation plans were put on the back burner as Aurora pursued opportunities in the Grafton and Oconomowoc markets.

City Administrator Kevin Lahner has said officials would be more than happy to discuss ways to keep an Aurora hospital in the city, but the city needs to know whether Aurora is even interested in such a scenario.

While some question whether Aurora will make any moves in the near future in light of the pending impact of the federal Affordable Care Act – commonly called ObamaCare – Stone believes the city should be proactive in addressing its health care future.

He suggested the local Chamber of Commerce host a health care forum during which local residents could learn from industry experts and express their opinions to assist local officials in making an informed decision.

Meanwhile, Lynch expressed a sentiment that many in the area appear to share:

“I don’t want to have Burlington end up the loser (when it comes to health care services).”

  An Aurora Health Care communications official was contacted for comment on this story Tuesday afternoon, but he declined to speak on the record after his attempts to gather additional information from system administrators were unsuccessful. Any views and responses provided by Aurora officials after deadline will be included in future stories.