The saga of Brooks-TLC Hospital System Inc. continues. Last week we heard that Brooks-TLC Chief executive officer Mary LaRowe is retiring, which she described as being planned for several months. She is being replaced by Kenneth Morris who joined Brooks-TLC in 2018.

However, in reality LaRowe’s retirement seemed rather precipitous when we also consider that Kaleida, which employed LaRowe, was getting a new chief executive officer itself.

That person is Don Boyd who, according to The Buffalo News, is building his own executive team. Boyd replaces Bob Nesselbush who joined Kaleida in late 2020 after spending 24 years at Rochester Regional Health. Nesselbush’s abrupt retirement was said to have caught many in the health-care community by surprise.

Then on Saturday as I read the OBSERVER, still somewhat dazed by the comings and abrupt goings at Brooks-TLC and Kaleida, I saw that a business plan submitted to the state Health Department by Brooks-TLC had been declined because it forecast a multi-million dollar yearly operating loss even with the new hospital. Former Brooks CEO Richard Ketcham recently warned us that this could be the case and so it is.

It was shocking to read that in 2019 Brooks had losses of $27 million, which leads me to conclude that those who were running Brooks over the last several years were either incompetent or didn’t care. That is the only conclusion I can reach.

With an outmoded rural hospital, I suppose we could expect perhaps $5 million or $10 million in yearly loses but not $27 million. Right now, Brooks-TLC does not need a new CEO, but a savior. I haven’t noticed it in pictures but I hope that new CEO Ken Morris has a halo around his head.

I do applaud the move by state Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, Sen. George Borrello, and County Executive PJ Wendel to form a commission of area residents with backgrounds in healthcare to look over the Brooks-Kaleida proposal and figure out the problems because there must be many. However, I for one would like to see an accounting firm and hospital consulting firm listed also. It might cost a little money but probably far less than what Brooks-TLC paid Kaleida for LaRowe’s services. Since Kaleida apparently did not invest much in Brooks over the years, Kaleida was probably the entity making money from Brooks.

I would advise Brooks-TLC to look to associate with a regional healthcare provider that recognizes the multiple challenges facing rural hospitals today. Frankly, I think that Kaleida either didn’t recognize those problems or didn’t care about them.

Hospitals like Brooks face the outmigration of its patient base as residents leave the area in search of jobs and a better life. This movement leaves behind an aging population that is more vulnerable with chronic conditions requiring more care. In addition, the remaining population has a higher rate of uninsured, Medicaid and Medicare patients leading to uncompensated or under-compensated care.

Another problem for rural hospitals is that many rural residents may believe that the quality of care in rural hospitals is inferior to that found in urban hospitals or perhaps they are ignorant of the services that rural hospitals do provide that would be more than adequate for a patient’s needs. Therefore, they chose the urban hospital.

Finally, during my research on rural hospitals, I have come to the conclusion that while Brooks may not be rated the best hospital in Western New York, it is far from the worst. We need Brooks as part of our community. It must be saved.

Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com