Althea Dunscombe: At root of this upheaval is fact the hospital is not getting paid

To The Daily Sun,

All the headlines on the front page of The Laconia Daily Sun on April 18 dealt with the hospital, the furloughed doctors and nurses and the difficult options patients in the area are dealing with. Obviously a very great concern of so many people in the area with no reliable indicators of what the future holds. My health care comes from the Laconia Clinic so I am just one among many with these concerns; a long-standing relationship of trust with my current healthcare provider for many years.

As a nurse I feel the pain of the furloughed doctors and nurses; this is what we do. Being told we cannot see and care for patients is alarming as well as disturbing on many levels. So why is it that those who have essentially been self-quarantined for two weeks with absolutely no symptoms of the virus cannot be screened to see our primary health care givers? Well money — getting paid — is one reason. The article regarding the furloughed doctors and nurses discusses this issue very well. But many of our health care providers are employed by the hospital so it is the hospital that is not getting paid.

The article “Patients wrangle options” by Roberta Baker contained answers as to who ultimately made the decision: “Following Centers for Medicaid and Medicare recommendations for hospitals nationwide, LRGH’s routine screenings have been postponed indefinitely, and general and elective surgeries are also on hold.” The hospital cannot afford to things it will not get paid for, so hospital administrators across the country made these decisions. I’m amazed that with all the “brains” at CMS, CDC, FDA and hospital administrators, they couldn’t figure out how to segregate their resources so as not to abandon half the patients in the country.

I pray for all the patients, doctors, nurses and ancillary health care workers affected by this virus and the hospital. I pray that someone will see the value of this medical facility and be willing to partner it to once again serve the people of the area.

Althea Dunscombe

Center Harbor