What an idea! Expand, not close!

[Bridget Conant]

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/07/21/424721371/expanding-not-shrinking-saves-a-small-rural-hospital

Here a small hospital faced with closure started thinking out of the box - instead of closing, expand! Offer more services. People came and the hospital was saved. A complete turnaround.

Many lessons here, not the least of which is that removing services destroys a hospital.

Metro offered to run Lakewood and part of their plan was to expand services. It would have worked. Why was the city so quick to say no to Metro? Their excuse that Metro didn't have the capability was a lie.

[cameron karslake]

From what I've read/researched the reason Summers ignored Metro was that he was already in bed with the Clinic. Long before Metro's proposal came down the pike, Summers and the Clinic knew what they wanted to do and NO OTHER ideas were going to get in their way, no matter how good they were.

It seems the LAST thing Summers wanted was the hospital to stay in any way, shape, or form.

Thanks Mike!