Submitted photo A visitor goes through the new entry system at Brooks-TLC in Dunkirk.

Northern Chautauqua County has been on the sidelines since 2008 when it comes to the delivery of health care. At that time, a major change took place in the region. Brooks Memorial Hospital in Dunkirk and TLC-Lakeshore Health Center in Irving joined forces to become one unit as the Lake Erie Regional Health System of New York.

Though the effort had potential, there was never any execution. One full-time chief executive officer oversaw the two separate entities that stood 15 minutes apart, but none of the administrative overhead and duplication was minimized. Instead, managers did little to control rising expenses while revenue streams were drying up as population declined and the treatment model changed greatly.

Those stumbles out of the starting gate then have put health care here in a critical state.

A decade of combined deficits that total more than $45 million between the two facilities proved they were both too big — and failing. It began with the closing of the Gowanda Tri-County Hospital after the devastating August floods of 2009. More than 10 years later, Lakeshore closed its doors in February 2020.

Not one community meeting or open session by the separate or combined hospital boards has ever been held. In some ways, it is understandable.

Before Mary E. LaRowe, current president and chief executive officer at Brooks-TLC, leadership was inconsistent. No one stayed at the helm longer than three or four years due to financial turmoil.

LaRowe’s arrival, in March 2016, was meant to signal a new beginning. It coincided with the start of an affiliation with Kaleida Health as well as a new state of the art hospital. Six years later, however, both initiatives have been about as successful as an ice cream stand in the heart of a blizzard.

When it comes to community confidence, there is a belief in the commitment of the hospital staff and the quality of care. A new state-funded $70 million facility for East Main Street in Fredonia is surrounded in doubt.

Over the last month, local elected officials have begun a push to put a new Brooks-TLC structure back on the state’s front burner. From all indications, even those from the Health Department, the project remains a go.

“To ensure that access to essential health services for the community is maintained, we continue to work with the leadership of Brooks Memorial and other health-care providers, as our commitment to the community has not changed,” said Jeffrey Hammond, department spokesman, earlier this month.

That’s reassuring, but far from a done deal. Since Brooks-TLC chose the former Cornell Cooperative Extension location in 2019, health care has been embattled. Once COVID-19 hit in March 2020, another shift took place. In-patient beds that were being shed in favor of out-patient procedures were increased to treat those infected with the virus.

As another phase of the pandemic takes hold today as cases dwindle, there is new light on what the new Brooks-TLC will look like. It is nothing like the current site that is four stories high, has 35 in-patient beds and takes up the block of Central Avenue from Fifth to Sixth streets.

In a phone interview earlier this month, both LaRowe and Mike Hughes, senior vice president and chief administrative officer for Kaleida Health, indicated state officials are aiming for a building that serves as a one-stop shop with fewer beds for out-patient procedures as well as more offices for the medical staff.

“As a result of COVID and the impact of COVID, (Brooks-TLC) is looking at expanding more of its medical office concept for prevention purposes,” LaRowe said regarding the future site. “We’ll continue to evaluate what the long-range needs are for the in-patient perspective.”

Even before shovels have been put into the ground, city residents have expressed their concerns regarding what may become of the potentially mammoth empty piece of property on an already desolate Central Avenue. Kaleida, in years past, has vowed to do what it can to help bring a new life to the current hospital.

That, however, is an issue for another day. As rural hospitals facing similar financial plights as Brooks-TLC close around the country, New York state has offered a life preserver of sorts in funding a new structure that has taken far too long to get built. Once reality, it may not include a birth unit due to a decrease in demand — both in terms of declining population and the department closure last fall.

Community leaders, including County Executive PJ Wendel, have endorsed moving ahead with the project. But local residents have a history of fearing any type of change that comes with a factor of the unknown. There is a definite dissatisfaction from a segment of the population.

As this effort slowly progresses, a healing has to happen to make this ultimately work. Let’s hope it is not too late.

John D’Agostino is the editor of the OBSERVER, The Post-Journal and Times Observer in Warren, Pa. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 716-366-3000, ext. 253.