NEENAH, WI -- A new survey, led by Neenah's mayor, has found the vast majority of participants do not support plans for a new regional hospital.
In February, ThedaCare announced they were considering building a new hospital in the Fox Cities, replacing both hospitals in Neenah, and Appleton.
Considering Neenah's facility is approaching 110 years old, and Appleton's is going on 60, some major upkeep would likely be just around the corner. Another reason to combine the two hospitals, according to ThedaCare representatives back in February, is to reduce some of the redundancies of care that could be provided at just one facility.
The on-line survey received more than 800 responses in 30 days, with some neighbors stopping by City Hall to complete the survey in person.
And it was pretty straightforward, asking participants just two questions:
- given what you know so far, whether you agree with the direction ThedaCare is exploring
- whether ThedaCare has made a compelling case for a new center
Mayor Dean Kaufert says, in his survey, people overwhelmingly disagreed in both questions by 83 percent. While the reasons varied, the mayor says concerns over access to health care topped the list for many.
"They're worried about the time and distance to travel to get their health care services," explains Kaufert, thumbing through the optional 'comment section' at the end of the survey in which nearly 500 comments were left, "and the older people... have to drive through a very busy 441/10 interchange, Highway 41. If it's more centrally located like [ThedaCare wants] to do, they're concerned about that."
Mayor Kaufert says he's heard from many neighbors during his outings to the grocery store, who claim they weren't able to make one of the two dozen meetings in the last four months hosted by ThedaCare in an effort to hear from the community. He adds he's impressed that his survey reached more than 800 people.
But health care access is only part of the community's concerns, says Kaufert. With the uncertainty surrounding the move, Kaufert says there's also a concern about the potential loss of any portion of the 1,000 or so jobs at stake.
“There are 1,000 people… [who] may not be coming through our downtown anymore on a daily basis," explains Kaufert. "That’s going to impact the shopkeepers, the storefronts, the gas stations where people stop to get coffee, all those things.”
Kaufert says the hospital also purchases from local vendors, not to mention the fact that most doctors are required to live near the hospital, equipped with a Level Two Trauma Center and Emergency Room, in case of an emergency.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE OLD BUILDING?
Another concern expressed to NBC26 by Mayor Kaufert Thursday was, if an agreement is reached to build a new regional hospital in the Fox Cities, what would happen to the century-old building?
Kaufert says the city cannot afford to have an "albatross" in the community, and hopes ThedaCare would be a "good corporate citizen."
"We can't have a.. huge, empty building right on the water front," says Kaufert, "[in a] pretty prime location."
COMMUNITY PRIDE
What arguably makes this discussion so hard for many in the Neenah community, says Kaufert, is the attachment they have to the building.
Kaufert says many Neenah natives can trace their family roots through births inside the hospital, and have been more than willing to raise extra funds through grassroots efforts when the facility was in need.
"This community stepped up to the plate whenever there was a fundraising effort at the hospital. So, they feel a little pride, they feel some ownership. And it feels like, if they do make the decision to move to a more regional facility, that that's going to be snatched away from them."
HOSPITAL RESPONSE
ThedaCare spokespeople were quick to respond to the findings of Mayor Kaufert's survey, in certain cases encouraging the conversation that it was stirring.
In a formal statement from chief medical officer, Dr. Greg Long:
“We appreciate that Neenah Mayor Kaufert continues to engage the people in his community in this important discussion. It is not surprising that different survey processes get different results. The survey feedback we have received came after in-person presentations, where people could ask questions and gain deeper understanding.
As we’ve said from the start of this journey, conversation with the community is critical. That’s why we meet periodically with the mayor and other local officials, and why we’ve held community meetings. It’s also why we’re holding additional public meetings this fall. We continue to encourage anyone to email your questions or comments to journey@thedacare.org.”
- Greg Long, MD
Spokesperson Megan Mulholland was also clear through e-mail that "no decisions have been made, no land purchased, nothing to announce."
Mulholland adds that, due to this fact, it would also be premature to talk about potential job loss. However, she does point out in an e-mail that "we are talking about consolidation two locations into one, so jobs could move out of Neenah, or even Appleton, but not the Fox Cities."
Meanwhile, a letter from Dr. Dean Gruner, president and CEO of Appleton-based ThedaCare, highlight the findings of their community surveys:
Listening to the Community
By Dean Gruner, MD
Our exploration of future healthcare facilities has generated a lot of conversation. That’s just what we wanted! We participated in more than two dozen meetings in the last four months, and engaged more than 425 people. We reached out to many people, and others asked to join the conversation. We’ve met with regular folks at coffee chats and public forums in Kimberly and Neenah, business leaders at Rotary, Kiwanis and local chambers of commerce, economic leaders with the Fox Cities Regional Partnership and Future Neenah, our partners like Gold Cross Ambulance, and many others. We’ve also appeared on a couple of radio talk shows and TV news programs, responded to email questions and met personally with local public officials, including Appleton Mayor Tim Hanna and Neenah Mayor Dean Kaufert, as well as Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson and Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris.
Thank you to everyone who’s attended a meeting, asked a question, and followed our journey. As a locally owned, community-based healthcare system with a history and culture of collaboration, ThedaCare is on this journey with the whole community.
At this point, we’re still seeking answers, but we’ve learned a lot and received encouraging feedback. Here’s what we’ve heard:
• 63 percent of people who responded to a brief survey (N=375) said they “agree” or “strongly agree” with the direction ThedaCare is exploring
• 20 percent are “neutral”
• 17 percent “disagree” or “strongly disagree”
• More than 83 percent want to learn more about the location of a potential new regional medical center
• More than 64 percent want to learn more about the cost of healthcare
• People also want to learn how changes might impact jobs and healthcare quality
• People are most excited about the opportunities for state-of-the-art care, new technologies and a central location
• People are most concerned about the cost of the project, what will happen to the existing facilities and the impact on the community
My take away from that feedback, and from conversations with public officials, is two-fold. 1) We have significant (but not universal) community support, as well as board support to proceed with our exploration, and 2) we should continue our transparent approach to keep people current and answer questions.
While we’ve been exploring the idea of one regional medical center, we’ve also continued our exploration internally. We began this journey about 22 months ago with a group of people that included community members, doctors, nurses and ThedaCare leaders. We’ve advanced that groundwork by launching work groups that are carefully studying specific areas of the changing world of healthcare, and how ThedaCare can continue to lead in delivering that care. Those 11 work groups are looking into key issues such as emergency room care, potential redevelopment options and, of course, the best possible location for a new regional medical center, and more.
These groups are focused on how ThedaCare should be organized to provide the best healthcare for our communities for generations to come. To that same end, we are talking with other healthcare systems and hospitals from around the country that have done similar projects.
The bottom line is that when we tell people what we’re doing, they mostly agree it’s time this work gets done - it just makes sense. They agree it’s time to look at healthcare this way. We’re continuing the exploration, and I invite you to join. We have more community meetings coming up, and you can always send me an email at journey@thedacare.org.
Oh, and despite all the rumors, there’s no location selected yet. Honestly. We are working hard to get the location right no matter how much time it takes.
- Dr. Dean Gruner is president and CEO of Appleton-based ThedaCare. To send your thoughts to him, email journey@thedacare.org.
