Erica Hebert: Give LRGH to me & I'll have it in the black in no time

To The Daily Sun,

In reply to Mr. DeForge's comments on LRGH:

So, you want to blame Obamacare for the fall of LRGH? I am sorry but you could not be more wrong. The woes that the hospital was having fiscally started WAY before Obama even took office. Obamacare at least gave some people insurance and the Medicaid expansion at least gave some uninsured folks basic health coverage.

The actions that did LRGH in are simple. 1. The emergency room for YEARS has taken in every person with or without insurance and with or without the ability to pay. Couple that with the opioid crisis where people seeking drugs would go to the emergency room for any tiny pain to get drugs and then the overdoses that started to overwhelm, all that care the emergency department gave without payment is absurd.

2. Poor management from the very top. Let us spend millions on a remodel of the main entrance when cannot afford to keep the hospital running. As a patient, in a car accident or having a heart attack, do I really care what the LOBBY LOOKS LIKE? No, I do not. Then remodel the emergency room when President Donovan even admits that they are losing $1 million dollars a MONTH? Why did the big wigs at the hospital feel the need to replace every soap dispenser in the entire building; which meant changing the soap that is used and throwing away hundreds and possibly thousands of dollars’ worth of soap because it didn’t fit the new dispensers? How is that helping the hospital save money and stay open when they again are million in debt? (this happened in 2020 folks not 1997 just so you know)

3. The birthing center. When you must close an entire wing because of how poor the quality of care is, that says a lot. Having babies is costly and that is money being handed to Dartmouth and Concord and Speare because all pregnant women go outside the Lakes Region for their birthing, which is just ridiculous. Universal health care would only HELP the Lakes Region because the millions in unpaid bills would no longer be left for collections. Everyone would get a standard of care they deserve. Preventative care would do just what its supposed to and prevent the unnecessary trips to the emergency room which would mean less waste and lower costs.

As a working mother and wife, give me control of the hospital and I would have it in the black in no time. You do not run a bankrupt company like it has unlimited resources. You run it like a family with a tight budget. I would not buy a new TV or remodel my kitchen if I cannot afford to keep my lights on or buy groceries. Why is that principle any different in a nonprofit or business? Obamacare did not create this mess. We did buy allowing poor management and money to be spent on frivolous items for years.

Erica Hebert

Laconia