Published: February 09, 2007 12:02 am      

HOSPITAL CLOSINGS: State puts Memorial, Mount St. Mary’s on merger timeline

Consolidation talks must begin by June

The Spitzer administration is marching forward with a plan to close and merge hospitals statewide and has given two local institutions a timeline to begin negotiations.

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and Mount St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston have been told that they must begin formal discussions about creating a single unified governance structure by June 1 and submit an application detailing what that structure is by the end of the year.

Meeting the negotiating timeline won’t be a problem, said Memorial Medical Center President Joseph Ruffolo.

“Whether we’ll be successful in affiliating, merging with Mount St. Mary’s is another issue,” Ruffolo said.

Mount St. Mary’s spokesman Fred Caso says that the hospital is ready to talk.

“Mount St. Mary’s welcomes the opportunity to hold discussions with Niagara Falls Memorial consistent with the directive of the Berger Commission,” said Caso. “We will meet all of the legal obligations which we have regarding the commission’s report.”

The state Department of Health is sending timelines to all hospitals and nursing homes affected by the Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, also known as the Berger Commission.

Mount St. Mary’s is in the midst of talks geared toward merging with the Catholic Health System, but Caso said Thursday that a recent 90-day extension of those talks also allows for discussions with Memorial Medical Center.

Representatives from the state Department of Health were touring both hospitals on Thursday as part of the process for carrying out the commission’s recommendations.

The hospitals are asked to schedule discussions by March 1, initiate those discussions by June 1 and submit progress reports on the discussions on Sept. 30.

The results of the hospitals’ discussions must be submitted to the state by the end of the year. If a report is not made, the state health commissioner is instructed to decide whether negotiations were performed in good faith by March 31, 2008. A decision on the merger report will be made by the commissioner by June 30, 2008.

The commission recommended that western Niagara County’s two acute care facilities negotiate toward common governance to stop a “medical arms race” that is expensive and creates duplicative services.

During the negotiations the state has said it will not approve new projects at either hospital, with some exceptions. If the state believes a hospital is not negotiating in good faith, it could be shut down. If that happens, the other would be expanded to accommodate more patients.

Memorial’s plans for a renovated behavioral health unit have not received final approval from the state. Ruffolo said he believed the project fit within the acceptable exceptions to the ban on new projects.

Niagara County, which has filed a lawsuit against the state regarding the commission’s recommendation to close and demolish Mount View Health Facility and build an assisted living facility in its place, is also expecting a letter from Albany.

The county argues that the commission’s recommendation will have a negative impact on county finances, because a purchase agreement with buyer Senior Associates now cannot be executed. Senior Associates, a Williamsville firm that owns and operates nursing homes, agreed to pay $2.4 million for the county-run home, located in Lockport.

The county has been trying to sell the nursing home to a private buyer since 2004.