Westfield public library says: don't close our ER

Patterson Library (Westfield, N.Y.) director Eli Guinnee and library archivist Nancy Nixon recall that in 2002, Welch's Grape Juice closed its corporate headquarters and left town. Then five years later, in 2007, the State of New York closed down the town's hospital, leaving the ER open. And now, in 2009, Albany threatens to close the Westfield Memorial Hospital's Emergency Room that provides emergency care for 13 rural communities. Patterson archivist Nancy Nixon asks why the State can so arbitrarily close down a private hospital that doesn't rely on State funds. Library Director Eli Guinnee adds that the ER is absolutely crucial for the viability of Westfield and surrounding communities. "Closing the ER would be devastating to this town," observes archivist Nixon.

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[Yoryevrah]

Will Albany bureaucrats give the people of Western New York a break, letting them keep their highly valued ER? It's no skin off the State's nose since it doesn't even fund the ER -- but the State controls certification; it can simply shut down the highly valued private ER on a whim, a ruling that would devastate this historic town on the edge of Lake Erie. Health Commissioner Dr. Daines keeps 30,000 people in suspense: will they have an ER in 2010? Should they crawl to Albany on their knees?