A proposal being floated by the United Food and Commercial Workers Labor Union, Local 555, to ostensibly save Bay Area Hospital has resulted in outrage from outlying hospital districts, including Southern Coos Hospital & Health Center in Bandon.

The labor union proposal, which is not endorsed or supported by the Bay Area Hospital Board, seeks to annex the current health districts serving the communities of Bandon, Gold Beach, Bookings, Coquille and Reedsport without a vote of the taxpayers in each of those districts.

The proposal further suggests that a ballot measure be placed on the May 20 Special Election ballot in each of the communities included in the (enlarged) Bay Area Hospital Health District. The ballot measure would be asking for
approval for funding a 5-year-tax levy to pay off a portion of the debts currently in default for Bay Area Hospital.

“Perhaps the most concerning part of the proposal is Step 3, which said that some entity, presumably Bay Area Hospital, would determine if there are profitable services at local critical access hospitals (like Bandon) that could be shut down and transferred to Bay Area Hospital,” wrote Southern Coos Hospital & Health Center CEO Raymond T. Hino in a letter to Sen. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, and Rep. Court Boice, R-Gold Beach.

“If this transfer of profitability from the critical access hospitals to Bay Area was allowed to happen, I would foresee potential closures of critical access hospitals in Southwest Oregon,” Hino added. “We all support the need for the long-term sustainability of Bay Area Hospital, but not at the cost of losing our hospitals in Bandon, Coquille, Gold Beach and Reedsport.

“We therefore support the planned corporate affiliation between Bay Area Hospital and Quorum Health,” Hino wrote.

Read the full letter here: Southern Coos Response-UFCW Proposal

News Source : https://southerncoos.org/schhc-ceo-opposed-to-ufcws-proposal-for-bay-area-hospital/