Community members in rural McKean County are fighting to preserve or rebuild healthcare, as both the city's hospital and connected long-term care facility will soon close their doors.
New York-based company Kaleida Health already closed the Bradford Regional Medical Center months ago, and now plans to close The Pavilion.
Gregory Spako said his father moved into the skilled nursing home a few months ago, but will have to move out soon since the facility is shutting down on or before December 1.
"My dad calls this home," Spako said. "He was finally settling in here, getting to know the people, the staff. It's an easy drive for us over here.”
Kaleida Health officials announced The Pavilion's closure back in mid-September, blaming increasing financial pressures and a shrinking rural population.
At the time, officials said they would work with families to find alternative care. Spako said Pavilion staff have tried to help, but there aren’t a lot of nearby options that will meet his dad’s needs. The skilled nursing homes he has found are an hour or two drive away.
Spako hasn’t yet told his dad about the move or The Pavilion closure, in fear the news will agitate him and worsen his dementia.
“He has noticed that some of the residents are gone that he would talk to every day," Spako said. "The disease itself is horrible. And then once you find a place where he can be and you feel secure, and then it gets taken away… That's the tough part.”
Spako is trying to get the word out to reporters and state leaders, even though he doubts more awareness will change his father’s situation or the fate of The Pavilion.
“Now that they've moved out a lot of residents, it doesn't seem like it's actually gonna, you know, be saved," Spako said.
Area lawmakers voice concerns to AG's office
The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, or LECOM, had been in talks to acquire The Pavilion and parts of the connected hospital.
LECOM decided to pull out of the deal in early September. At that time, a spokesperson told WPSU that they identified “substantive regulatory considerations and unresolved matters.”
Pennsylvania state lawmakers representing McKean County say LECOM pulled out of the deal because Kaleida was requesting a non-compete agreement that would have prevented LECOM from operating a hospital in Bradford.
“The whole point of this was to ensure that they were the only game in town," said Sen. Cris Dush, a Republican state senator representing the 25th District.
Dush and Rep. Martin Causer are calling on Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday to investigate whether Kaleida is breaking federal antitrust laws.
The attorney general’s office did not answer a question from WPSU about whether they’re investigating Kaleida. In a statement to the newsroom, a Kaleida spokesperson says they’re “fully cooperating” with any requests from the attorney general to provide more information about the hospital and long-term care facility closures.
Dush said the AG’s office is considering next steps.
“There are things that they can't talk about, or cannot confirm or deny that they're doing right now," Dush said. "And as former law enforcement, I actually understand that.”
Martin Causer, a Republican state Representative whose district includes McKean County, said he’s met with the AG’s office and hopes they can get Kaleida to remove the non-compete clause. That could allow LECOM to take over The Pavilion and parts of the now-closed hospital as originally planned.
“Our EMS system is overburdened," Causer said. "You know, people are struggling to access care in the community.”
Since the emergency department closed, first responders say their call response times have doubled. And, Causer points out that the next closest hospital, which is also owned by Kaleida, is in Olean, New York, about a half hour away.
“People should not have to travel to Olean and sit in the waiting room at Olean General Hospital for six hours just before seeing a provider," Causer said. "I mean, there are people that need emergency services. People deserve to have access to care.”
Community and area lawmakers consider what to do next
Causer and Dush are part of a new “Healthcare Access Team” for the City of Bradford. It’s one of several community groups brainstorming ways to either bring back care, or to start from the ground up and possibly build a new hospital.
“There are a lot of people with a lot of ideas. I think that most of them are more long-term," said Margie Brown, one of the founders of the “Save Bradford Hospital” group.
Brown says that group has worked to preserve healthcare access for years. Ideally, they’d like to see the hospital re-open under a new owner. If that can’t happen, Brown said another contingency is to fundraise for a new hospital or a small-scale emergency room. But, she said the community as a whole hasn’t come up with a solid plan yet.
“This is happening so fast, and it’s left everybody flat-footed," Brown said. "Aside from the community chatting about, you know, what to do about this, we don't have any solutions. We can't build anything that quickly. So there is nothing. It's sad to say, but there's nothing for now. Maybe down the road more facilities could be built, but I don't know.”
Brown started a petition asking the attorney general’s office to investigate Kaleida, which has almost 2,500 signatures. Brown hopes an investigation will open the way for LECOM or another healthcare company to reopen the former hospital and skilled nursing facility.
