Some 18 months ago Hartford Healthcare discontinued Labor & Delivery services at Windham Hospital, forcing pregnant mothers to drive the 30 or more minutes to Backus Hospital in Norwich, along a windy, 2 lane route 32, and making it difficult for family members to be a part of one of the most important events in a family’s life. Compounding the problem is the fact that the Windham area has a higher percentage of lower income people who lack reliable transportation and a higher percentage of mothers of color, who historically have poorer maternal outcomes.
That would have been the sad end to the story except for one important fact. Connecticut has a Certificate of Need process that must be followed whenever a healthcare corporation wishes to increase or decrease services. That process will culminate this Wednesday with a Certificate of Need (CoN) hearing, and the community is pushing back. Our hope is that the state steps in and reverses this decision.
The discontinuation of Labor & Maternity and other visual services is something that is playing out across this country. The fact is that it is expensive to run a Labor & Maternity unit, an Intensive Care Unit, and other units in hospitals. As healthcare corporations have gained control of more and more hospitals in a region, there is an economic advantage to consolidate some of these services into hub hospitals and to use the other hospitals in the system as intake, or feeder hospitals, sending most patients to the main hospital. In the Hartford Hospital system, Backus Hospital in the east and Hartford Hospital in the center of the state have become those hubs. While this may make economic sense, the bigger question is whether it is in the best interest of the patients and families.
There is also a larger, fundamental question. What responsibility does a hospital, having been granted a license by the state to provide services to the residents of the state, have to those residents? Especially considering the many tax advantages these hospitals have been granted and the fact that their income comes from taxpayers in the form of Medicare and Medicaid payments or insurance premiums. Shouldn’t state residents have a say in what core services these hospitals have to offer? Connecticut residents believe so, that is why we have a CoN process (which shockingly is not available in all states)
A community group has been formed to push back against this closing, Windham United to Save Our Healthcare, you can find them on FB @Windham United to Save our Healthcare. Many organizations have joined this coalition, including AFT Connecticut, CT Citizens Action Group (CCAG), Hartford Organization of Professional Employees (HOPE), Generations Family Healthcare, NARAL, Northeast CT Grassroots Group, Planned Parenthood, Quiet Conor Shouts, The Neighbor Fund, Universal Healthcare Foundation, Volta Boricua, We the People Windham and the NAACP. The Town Councils of Windham, Mansfield, Eastford, and Coventry have passed resolutions supporting a return of L&D services. Several state representatives and senators have expressed support. Most importantly, hundreds of area residents are asking for L&D services to be restored.
It is time for Hartford Healthcare to do the right thing. It is time for them to fulfill their obligation to the community, to provided needed services.
If you want to testify at the hearing, you can submit written testimony and/or testify verbally. You do not have to be an expert, we will have experts. More important are your personal stories, told from the heart. Many will be gathering Wednesday at the Windham Town Hall to watch the hearing, which will be on zoom. There will be an opportunity to testify from there but you can also watch and/or testify from home if that is more convenient. The information is below.
Zoom information for next week's Certificate of Need Hearing. All are welcome to join us at the Windham Town Hall, however you can log on from home using this information. It can also be found here: https://www.hopeunions.org/sites/default/files/wcmh_maternity_srvs_con_hearing_flyer.pdf
If you’d like to join us at the Windham Town Hall to watch or testify. On November 10, 2021 the state health department’s Office of Health Care Access will hold a hearing over Zoom to decide if Hartford HealthCare can permanently shut down the Windham Hospital maternity unit. This virtualCertificate of Need hearing is the community’s chance to weigh-in. The WindhamUnited to Save our Healthcare Coalition will be gathering at the Bellington Auditorium on the top floor of the Windham Town Hall to view the hearing and provide a space for community members to testify.
Testimony for Hartford HealthCare begins at 10am. Public testimony begins at 3pm.
To submit written testimony or to sign up to offer a 3 minute Zoom testimony please email: savewindhammaternity@gmail.com
