As long as I'm obsessing over my (lack of) health,
Laurel Walker in the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found the Aurora Health Care internet site,
which has it's own little Q&A. Here's some of the questions and answers Walker didn't get to:
Q: ProHealth’s new ad campaign for Oconomowoc Memorial has the theme, “It’s already here.” If it’s already here, why undertake more than $80 million in fix-up work?
A: Obviously, it’s not already here.
Q: Why should ProHealth be allowed to build when Aurora has been blocked from doing so?
A: That’s a good question – one that should be asked of your local elected officials.
And one question Walker did have in her column:
Q: Will Aurora oppose the renovation and expansion of Oconomowoc Memorial?
A: We think ProHealth Care should be free to invest in ways that enhance care for its patients. We believe that Aurora should be allowed to do the same.
Here's some questions from a Q&A on the proposed LifeCare Hospital:
Q: What is the approval process for the LifeCare hospital?
A: The project requires only City of Waukesha approval. The LifeCare site required a zoning change, which has been approved by the Waukesha Common Council. The vote in favor was unanimous and came after very little discussion. Among those voting was Ald. Kathleen Cummings, who also sits on the Waukesha County Board. Cummings was opposed to the Aurora project and voted against it when the matter came before the County Board on April 26, 2005. Also voting in favor of the LifeCare project was Ald. Rick Tortomasi, who spoke against the Aurora project at a public hearing on Feb. 15, 2005.
Q: What has ProHealth Care said about this proposed new hospital?
A: Very little. For years now, ProHealth has vigorously opposed any effort by Aurora Health Care to build a hospital in western Waukesha County. Within hours of Aurora’s announcement of plans for a hospital in the Town of Summit, ProHealth’s senior leaders condemned the project in the strongest terms. But on the LifeCare project, they seem to have nothing to say.
Q: So how do we interpret ProHealth’s silence? Why isn’t ProHealth raising concerns about rising health care costs, duplication of services and excess hospital capacity?
A: This much seems clear: The objections ProHealth has raised about the Aurora project are not genuine. It is concerned chiefly with preserving the hospital monopoly it now enjoys in the western half of the county.
