An Important Update from the LHP Joint Venture CEOs:
We would like to take a brief moment to let the people of Greater Waterbury know why they have good reason to be excited about the future of healthcare in our region.
In particular, we remain extremely excited about the proposed Joint Venture between Waterbury's two hospitals – Saint Mary's Hospital and Waterbury Hospital – and LHP Hospital Group. The goal of this venture is eventually to provide a more united healthcare system in Greater Waterbury and the construction of a $400 million modern medical center to serve the people of this region for generations to come. Once completed, the new medical center will bring innumerable benefits to the region in terms of healthcare treatment, accessibility, convenience, jobs and economic growth.
We want to be clear that the three parties involved in this transaction remain committed to our vision of creating a private for-profit health care system that will ultimately generate considerable tax revenue where none exists now (both Waterbury Hospital and Saint Mary's Hospital currently operate as non-profit, tax-exempt entities.) At the moment, we are supporting efforts by our region's legislative leaders to explore the possibility of securing tax incentives and other considerations that could lead to infrastructure improvements in the area where a new medical center may be built – another great benefit to the community.
Furthermore, the new medical center, as conceived by all parties, will serve to enhance patient care and convenience by including more space for patient beds, not less. There has been, as yet, no determination of the number of patient beds the new facility may hold, but rest assured that one of the primary goals of this undertaking is to create a facility that can comfortably accommodate the needs of this population for years to come. Any claims about an overall reduction in bed space, however, are misleading in that both hospitals are currently licensed for a certain number of beds, but practical considerations mean that neither hospital generally comes close to housing that number of patients. A new facility would give us the space and logistical ability to accommodate a greater number of patients on a daily basis.
Finally, we know there are questions about the proposed new medical center's impact on jobs in the region. We fully expect that once construction of a new medical center is completed, we will be able to generate significant job growth to support the demand the medical center will create. We also anticipate that the construction phase will create as many as 700 or more new jobs as the facility is being built. The bottom line is that this undertaking represents an attempt to preserve jobs and improve healthcare accessibility in this region; without it, the future of healthcare in Greater Waterbury becomes far more uncertain. The new hospital is meant to generate jobs, not reduce them. For more information about the exciting potential of this transaction, we encourage the public to go to the websites www.futureforwaterburyhospital.com or www.futureforsaintmarys.com.
We appreciate that there are concerns and apprehensions in some corners about the changes this proposal would bring. Change can indeed be unsettling. The necessary government approvals will take some time, and we ask that the community remain patient as we work through this process. It is important to stay focused on the long term benefits to our quality of life and to the region's economic outlook that this undertaking represents.
Sincerely,
Chad Wable, President and CEO, Saint Mary's Hospital
Darlene Stromstad, President and CEO, Waterbury Hospital
Dan Moen, CEO, LHP Hospital Group, Inc.