SLHTalkingPointsMay42015
Save Lakewood Hospital
Marguerite Harkness, CPA, Chair
May 8, 2015
Talking Points for Frequently Asked Questions or Comments:
WHY DO WE NEED A HOSPITAL IN LAKEWOOD?
WE THE RESIDENTS OF LAKEWOOD, OWN THE HOSPITAL AND THE EQUIPMENT. CLEVELAND
CLINIC DOES NOT OWN IT. THE MAYOR DOES NOT OWN IT. CITY COUNCIL DOES NOT OWN IT.
WE OWN IT. IT WAS ORIGINALLY ESTABLISHED TO TAKE CARE OF LAKEWOOD RESIDENTS AND
KEEP US WELL.
1.
MEDICAL!!
91 MINUTES IS TOO LONG!
Our cardiologists tell us you have only 90 minutes from arrival at hospital, to getting the balloon in the artery (to
save the patient’s life). It takes more than 90 minutes if you are at Lakewood Hospital and Cleveland Clinic insists
on transporting you to Fairview Hospital. You might n ot make it. Cleveland Clinic is ignoring the time of transport
and pretending they can meet this time window.
GOOD DOCTORS, NURSES, AND CARE - To help us get well and STAY well!
Doctors at Lakewood Hospital are knowledgeable and well-equipped to handle all kinds of medical issues:
Heart attacks – surgical intervention, balloons in arteries, cardiac care and rehab.
Stroke care – surgical intervention, insert stents, restore brain function
Concussion - take care of our kids on the football field
Pediatric care
Internal medicine
Management of chronic issues, high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes
Addict/alcohol treatment
Emergencies
GOOD WOMEN’S CENTER
Women’s center, Obstetrics and Babies
Obstetricians
Gynecologists
Midwifery
Underwater birthing
Mammograms with quick reads by radiologists, so you don’t have to return for a second read if there is something
odd
Bone density testing, identify and stop osteoporosis before it weakens your bones
GOOD MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH ISSUES
Educated nurse practitioners to help you with diabetes treatment and management
GOOD LAB AND DIAGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT
Full lab facilities
Blood tests, draws and lab results on-site
X-rays
Ultrasound of all types
CT scan which is a “geographic” view of the internal body
MRI which is a “chemical” view of the internal body
GI testing
Nuclear medicine
WHY NOT JUST SETTLE FOR GOING TO FAIRVIEW?
Fairview is too far from here. It is 3 miles away. It is 20 traffic lights away from Lakewood Hospital. A heart
attack or stroke victim at Winton Place might not make it to Fairview. (We have already heard of deaths due to long
distance travel.)
Rescue squad can get you to Lakewood Hospital faster than to any other hospital. Takes longer to get to any other
hospital, plus you could have to wait for the squad to return from Fairview before they can even get to your house.
911 calls come in clusters. Lakewood has 3 vans, and maybe one more. If three calls come in at about the same
time, and they all have to go to Fairview, you will have a much longer wait than the 5 minutes it usually takes the
Lakewood squad to get to you. They come to your home, quickly check out your condition, see if there is an
immediate intervention they can do, stabilize you, bring in the gurney, get you into the van, and then to the hospital.
The time in your home could be 15 minutes – plus transport time 10 to 15 minutes each way if Fairview. One van
can be tied up for 45 minutes. The squads would rather drop you off at Lakewood, run to the next home, get the
next patient, run to Lakewood, etc. Much quicker, and most important – MUCH safer to get you into the hospital as
soon as possible.
THEY SAY WE DON’T STAY IN THE HOSPITAL OVERNIGHT ANY MORE.
THAT’S NOT TRUE. OTHERWISE, WHY WOULD THEY BUILD A NEW HOSPITAL IN AVON WITH 120
BEDS?
In 2013 there were 43,800 in-patient days at Lakewood. That is 120 beds, full, every day for 365 days.
WHAT ABOUT THE EMERGENCY ROOM?
The ER at Fairview is jammed. There are so many people waiting that they have been told it will be a 5-hour wait.
Lakewood has a newer ER with 20 separate rooms. What if there is a major storm, hurricane, tornado, such as July
4, 1969 that dropped most of the trees at Lakewood Park. Or July 4, 1976 when all the fireworks went off into the
crowd. Or a kid shoots up a school, or a plane crashes here (like in Shanksville 9/11/2001), or a terrorist attack at
the Arts Festival or other major event.
MONEY MATTERS:
WHY SHOULD WE SAVE IT?
Lakewood Hospital is an irreplaceable asset. It generates $300 million of business in Lakewood every year. This
is based on 1100 employees at the Hospital, which generates a total of 4400 jobs in Lakewood.
CLEVELAND CLINIC AGREES WITH OUR FIGURE. THEIR NUMBERS: $12.6 BILLION BENEFIT,
DIVIDE BY 48,000 HOSPITAL JOBS, = $260,000 VALUE PER EACH AND EVERY HOSPITAL EMPLOYEE.
MULTIPLY BY 1100 HOSPITAL JOBS = $286 MILLION BUSINESS IN LAKEWOOD – EVERY YEAR!
WE CAN’T AFFORD TO LOSE THE LARGEST EMPLOYER IN OUR TOWN.
JOBS!!!
1100 jobs IN the hospital, generate 3300 more jobs OUTSIDE the hospital, in the community (Lakewood). These
are suppliers, RESTAURANTS, services, drug stores, doctors, dentists, staff at med offices, labs, home health care
supplies, nursing homes, yoga studios, theater-goers, dance/theater/music students at BECK, etc.
4400 jobs is 8% of Lakewood’s population of 52,000.
That’s 1 out of 12 people.
That’s 1 out of 4 HOMES (15,300 homes).
ONE OF THESE JOBS COULD BE YOU. EVEN IF YOU’RE SELF-EMPLOYED, OR A SUB-S
CORPORATION.
CITY INCOME TAX:
4400 jobs generate Lakewood city income tax of $3.6 million. This is 14% of the city budget. That’s a lot.
NOT merely $1 million per the mayor.
WHAT ABOUT THE WELLNESS CENTER? ISN’T THAT A GOOD IDEA?
NO. IT CAN’T AND WON’T REPLACE OUR FULL SERVICE HOSPITAL.
UPON DIRECT QUESTIONING, THE CLEVELAND CLINIC DOCTORS COULD NOT TELL US WHAT
WILL BE IN THE WELLNESS CENTER. THEY HEDGED WITH “IT DEPENDS ON THE NEEDS OF THE
COMMUNITY.” BUT THEY HAVE BEEN RUNNING THIS HOSPITAL FOR 19 YEARS, AND THEY DID A
COMMUNITY NEEDS STUDY – SO THEY OUGHT TO KNOW WHAT WE NEED, BY NOW. IF THEY
DON’T – THEY FLUNKED THEIR EXAM.
WE ASKED DIRECTLY, WILL THERE BE OUTPATIENT SURGERY? THEY SAID EMPHATICALLY, NO!!
WE CAN BUILD MORE WELLNESS SERVICES INTO THE HOSPITAL THAT WE HAVE.
NO AMBULANCE WILL BRING YOU TO A WELLNESS CENTER. IT ISN’T REALLY AN EMERGENCY
ROOM, THOUGH CLINIC IS PRETENDING IT WILL BE. THEY SAY THERE WILL BE 4 EMERGENCY
ROOMS; BUT WE HAVE 20 NOW. THEY CAN’T DO SURGERY, OR HEART ATTACK INTERVENTIONS,
OR STROKE INTERVENTIONS, OR FIX A BROKEN HIP.
I THOUGHT IT WAS A “DONE DEAL.”
No, it isn’t. We the citizens of Lakewood CAN Save Lakewood Hospital. We are working in many different areas,
to keep the Mayor and the Cleveland Clinic from closing our hospital.