RECENT LAYOFFS at Carrington Medical Center? The number seems to keep rising.
What is CHI's intent for the future of Carrington's hospital/clinic? Many people no longer go to the clinic since Dr. Geier was terminated (and many of us have questions about the reason for that). St. Aloisius Clinic in Harvey, where Dr. Geier is now located, seems to be thriving. MANY of Dr. Geier's CHI Carringtion patients are going there now instead of to the Carrington clinic. As it stands, we now have only one doctor on staff, Dr. Paige ... so one wonders about the rationale for terminating Dr. Geier's contract when he had a large following stretching within a 100-mile radius of the hospital.
Do you, as a local citizen, question the importance of having a hospital in Carrington. Why isn't the CHI and local management informing us as to what their long-term plans are for our community hospital?
On a side-note the City of Carrington officials are trying to attract new people and businesses to our community. Do you think their goals will be affected by the questionable economic health of our local hospital? Many retirees and older citizens live in Carrington because of the closeness of a hospital and good health care. It's our hope that it will continue to exist.
What can we do to help our hospital and town thrive in the face of job layoffs, loss of businesses (Shopko, for example), and a shrinking population? Until we address those issues, many questions remain about the physical and economic health of our community.
